Finding My Name

BY CORVINROOK CHAMPION

The text notification on my phone said “Hello Corvinrock,” and I immediately thought, “Who is this? And how do they have my number?” Then, I noticed my name was misspelled as Corvinrock instead of Corvinrook and I thought “Oh gosh, the spam bots have learned my name. . . sort of . . . should I be concerned?”

I finally clicked on and read the whole message and my thoughts changed to “Are they sure they have the right person?” When it sank in, that I was really nominated for a Queer Youth Leadership Award, and this was no mistake, I was very surprised.

I was quite honored and very flattered, as well as quite nervous. I wanted to know what I had done to deserve such an honor, as I was simply trying to live my life the best I could, while being the best person I could be as I did it.

Turns out all the little things we do in life really do have an impact. I am very open about who I am with those around me. I wear pride pins and bracelets, I dress in a unique style, and I’m very loud in who I am, what I like, and who I like. I am unapologetically myself, and I’m not ashamed of that fact. It probably has something to do with me being a theater kid, or maybe I’m a theater kid because I’m that way. Along with the theater, lots of things contribute to making me, me, and it took quite a while and quite a bit of effort to figure out just who I am after putting them all together.

When I was first starting to figure myself out, instead of telling my parents, I just left random hints. I did not want to initiate the conversation. I kept quiet for a while as I figured things out for myself.