When I first entered BCA, I was afraid; I was petrified. (Yes, I did just steal a Gloria Gaynor quote.) Coming from a middle school where I had been the only kid “out,” I had no idea as to what would be in store for me at BCA. To say I found a supportive community is an understatement; what I found was a community where embracing everyone’s qualities is the norm and acceptance is expected. Where I had been greeted with some derogatory terms when revealing my sexuality in my hometown, I was greeted with approval and love from nearly every single person at the Academies.

As cheesy as the saying is, “Love is love” encompasses so much more than just that people should be able to love who they want to love. It means that the love we share with each other is powerful, timeless, and applies to each and every individual. Even if we don’t know the names of every person at BCA, there’s some sort of connection that links us all together.

The LGBTQ+ population at BCA is active and proud. Every week, the Spectrum Club and its plentiful members congregate in my IGS and I’m reminded of how lucky I am to be in such a supportive community. Our International Day of Acceptance is always something that reminds us of how amazing our community is, and the Spectrum IDA performance never fails to impress. But the Spectrum Club isn’t only for LGBTQ+ students; the number of allies who consistently attend meetings to show their loyalty is enough to demonstrate how supportive BCA truly is.

Sawya Brown, AAST junior & Spectrum co-president, captured the value of BCA’s acceptance when she said: “People in BCA that are part of the LGBTQ+ community don’t have to be afraid to be who they are.” In a world where there are constantly unfortunate stories of LGBTQ+ kids struggling to be accepted for who they are, it’s important that our school offers a safe space where kids don’t need to live in fear.

For a lot of us, our statuses as members of the LGBTQ+ community have taught us how to accept ourselves and find our niches. We do face some adversity as LGBTQ+ people, but the ups will almost always outweigh the downs because of how inclusive BCA is. If our school has taught us one thing besides PV=nRT, it’s that being who you are is the utmost important thing.

We are all thankful for the community BCA provides- even through its stress and occasional sleep deprivation sometimes make us forget that there are things that all of us are thankful for, and I’m positive that people are at the top of our lists.

It is wonderful to see that we all have the ability to embrace ourselves and love ourselves, which is such a valuable life lesson. This school, with its IDA, its clubs for every imaginable idea, and its extremely varied population, is something that lots of us would not trade for the world. The love that the BCA community radiates is invaluable. Happy Valentine’s Day!