"I wish she 'd just aborted me."
It was 1 a.m. when I received Emory 's text. Never had I been more grateful for overdue chemistry homework than on that night. Emory Braon 's life has been nothing short of a Shakespearean tragedy. Born in Germany, their single mother died in childbirth. They stumbled through foster care for a few years, before ending up in the United States. At age 9, they were diagnosed with cancer. By age 12, they were juggling an assortment of mental illnesses, including anorexia, anxiety, and depression. It took them 13 years to find a family willing to adopt them, only to be shunned by this family when they came out as agender. On that night, there was little I could do for Emory. I couldn 't truthfully say that it
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I helped organize charity walks, cleaned beaches, volunteered at ASL seminars, and delivered food to construction workers. Most of my work, however, was at the MeCats cat shelter, where over 200 cats had been rescued off the streets, or from abusive households. The cat shelter was highly understaffed, so every week, a team of 10 volunteers cleaned the cat enclosures and groomed the cats.
Many of these cats had infections, were blind, or were missing ears or limbs, and needed special care, which we also helped provide. Working at this shelter was a very poignant experience, because it was a largely thankless job. I came back every week with scratches all over my arms, and fur clinging to my clothes. Regardless, I still reveled in the knowledge that a living creature had benefited from my actions, which is why I will continue volunteering at animal shelters in the future.
As Emory would tell you, one 's suffering can often be attributed to another 's ignorance. As the Vice President of my school 's GSA, I strive to fight this ignorance with awareness and love, and to make the school a safer and more tolerant environment, conducive to everyone 's learning. We 've started an Ally program, which lets teachers get in touch with, and provide guidance to LGBT students. We 've also made the school more