I'm serious about this, guys.

Whenever I think about my blog these past few days, I feel an uncharacteristic resentment towards it. I'm fairly certain that this feeling has its origin in the responses a few of you vocalized to me, in reaction to what I posted on Sunday. I feel as though even in Seoul, I'm still being trapped in West Michigan's close-mindedness, and I don't like it.

I am writing this note to try to purge these feelings, so that I can continue being fond of this blog.

Let me say this plainly: I refuse to censor myself on my blog. When I told you about my blog in the first place, it meant that I was trusting you with a lot of personal information about myself. If your response to my trust is to place judgments on my behavior and to treat me like a child, I will not hesitate to make my private thoughts inaccessible to you. I am not a child, and I know more about my life [feelings, behaviors, surroundings, etc.] than you ever will, just as you know more about /your/ life than I possibly can. If you ever wish to have a meaningful conversation about my behavior (or specifically, my sexuality), I welcome you. I'm aware that many of you have no idea (though you may think you have an idea) how I define my sexuality. You've never asked. I would be happy to talk to you about it if you are curious, but only if you come to the conversation having discarded your previous assumptions about me. I am not the person I was growing up. I have thought long and hard about these things. Recognize that, please. I refuse to let you make me feel cheap or ashamed; if you come to the conversation with the idea of convincing me to change behaviors that you view as wrong, I will hang up on you.

I am fond of this blog. I want it to continue for a long time, and I want it to be open to anyone who wants to read it. I can't fathom why you would want to read this if you're not going to be open-minded about it. I'm well aware that many of my life views are radically different from yours, but when I arrived in Seoul I tried to drop every impulse to judge or pre-conceive, and I wish you would do the same. If you can't, at least keep your judgments to yourself. I don't want to hear them. This blog is a safe space for me, and if you challenge that, you will lose access to it.

That being said, let the posting go on.