Me, Myself, and I

Hello, all! My name is James, and I'm a gay guy currently living and studying at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. I'm a freshman and psychology major with a minor in sociology who's hoping to specialize in child and adolescent development. If all goes according to my current plan, I'll probably end up working as a school counselor in northern New Mexico, though I am still flexible on what I'll end up doing exactly. Regardless of what specialization I go into, I'm likely to have the equivalent of a master's degree by the time I'm finished with school.

At the current moment, I'm adjusting to living life in the largest of New Mexico's small cities after having moved here from a small village (with a permanent population of less than 700) where I spent all my life. I've found a thriving and supportive LGBTQ community here which I'm happy to be a part of, but I'm also looking to make some friends online. I'm gay, and I go by either he or they pronouns. (I'm not attached to the concept of masculinity or gender in general; I just present masculine because it's easier than presenting feminine.)

I'm a major nerd, and I love basically all things Nintendo. My favorite series include Super Smash Bros., Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mario, and Animal Crossing. My first and favorite video game character is actually Pac-Man, though, and he's where my username comes from. (In case you're wondering, it's pronounced like Pac with the "ack" sound repeated, with the accent on the first syllable). If you're interested in playing some games with me sometime, hit me up (assuming I'm understanding the rules correctly and that friend codes and the like can be shared over private messages)!

I'm also a huge coffee and tea person, and I fully admit to being addicted to caffeine. Odds are, if I'm wanting some company, I'll ask someone if they want to grab some coffee, and if one of my friends is sick, then I'm the one bringing them tea. There's just something about the preparation of everything and the sharing aspect which I really like.

I'm also really into books when I have the time to read. I am currently reading Sir Thomas More's Utopia, and I've purchased other books on social and political theory just out of casual interest. Included in that list is The Second Treatise of Government, The Social Contract Theory, The Communist Manifesto (if you're wondering, I would identify myself as a democratic socialist, not a communist; the text is just interesting), Leviathan, A Vindication on the Rights of Men and A Vindication on the Rights of Women, and various essays from John Stuart Mill.

I understand that that's a lot of heavy reading, but I'm also into a lot of more lighthearted stuff, and my favorite books are actually Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I'm also fond of the Chronicles of Narnia series and the Harry Potter books, but my heart belongs foremost to Alice.

I'm also heavily read in traditional Biblical doctrine because of my upbringing, and I have several opinions on correct interpretations of the Bible, even if I consider myself essentially agnostic. I took two years of Koine Greek (the Greek the New Testament was written in) and I actually own the Bible in its original languages, though I acknowledge them to be flawed copies of the original text. If you're interested, I can direct you to several sources which argue against homophobic and transphobic readings of the Bible, and even ones which arguably vindicate same-sex couples. It's useful if your parents are traditional Christians like mine.

I'm the type of person who will absolutely talk your ear off about topics I find interesting, and that includes a lot of formal areas of study, but I'm also very cognizant of others and tend to act as a counselor for my friends. While I am passionate about learning and knowledge, my foremost concern is that the people I care about are safe and happy. I'd like to think that I'm a good friend. I have ADHD, depression, anxiety, and recurring migraines, so I have a lot of empathy for people who are in difficult situations. I've gone through a fair amount of difficulty in my life that I won't go into, and I tend to present myself in a very caring manner as a result.

Oh, yeah, if you're interested in my physical appearance, I'm a lanky 5'11"(ish) guy and I weigh about 140 lbs. (That's 180 cm and 64 kg) I'm white, though I do also have a nontrivial amount of (Bohemian) Romani and Algonquin in me which you wouldn't be able to notice from my appearance (it showed up more in my brother than I). I have mousy brown hair and hazel green eyes, and I wear glasses.

That should be a sufficiently ridiculous length for an introduction. If you're interested in knowing more about me, then just ask! I'm pretty much an open book.

 

I don't own an espresso machine due to limited space, I'm afraid, but I do have a French press which I use regularly and I enjoy going to local coffee shops around here. It's definitely nice to be able to sit and feel calm while the world is moving past you.

 

Yes, I do! My mother's grandmother was fully Romani, and she married a German immigrant. They lived in Illinois in a barbershop, and she was a pseudo-professional organist and pianist. She tutored students in the back of the building where she had a full organ, a standup one, and two pianos, and she even played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra once.

My mother has wonderful stories about her, and from what I can tell she was quite the character. She once put a hex on a truck driver across from the barbershop because he was being too noisy and it was driving away business. And she would regularly mix and match paints to get the colors she wanted, messing up the labeling in the process, but assured my mother that it was fine because she was still paying for the paint. Oh, and she once purposefully neglected to mention a crucial step in the process of making her traditional potato dumplings to her son's wife (my grandmother), and they literally turned out being so hard that the boys went out and played baseball with them.

There's a beautiful painted-over photograph of her in my mother's house, and I've always been very proud to be her great-grandchild with how much of a presence she had in my home.

 

Thank you, I'm glad to be here.

 

Thank you!

 

One of my favorite sources would be the website http://www.gaychristian101.com/

It has explanations for every text typically seen as anti-gay or trans and provides historical insight for several things. If you have major questions, it's a wonderful resource.