Reverb10: Beautifully Different

**Update from Drag Queen Bingo last night**
Last night was far tamer than I was expecting but still a lot of fun. I won!!! Someone got bingo before me in the second round but Miss Anastasia Beaverhausen, the resident drag queen and number caller, said she would do a second place winner if they could correctly answer one of her Drag Trivia Questions. The question was, "In what year did Prince Charles marry Diana Spencer? The hit single of that year was Olivia Newton John's, "Let's Get Physical"." After performing some quick calculations I shot my hand in the air and got it right. Does anyone else know what year it was? So yeah, I went up on stage, feeling totally embarrassed and I got to pick out a prize after Anastasia sized me up and I laughed nervously with my hands in my pockets. Not my smoothest moment.

As for today's prompt, they sure aren't pulling any introspective punches. I'm just gonna copy and paste today's:"Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)". It's these sorts of prompts that stump me. I'll give it a go though.

I think perhaps what makes me different, maybe not from my friends but at least from the general public, is my attitude of everything is fair game when it comes to humor. Nothing is off limits when it comes to jokes between friends. During the summer after college when T-Welsh was living in the 438, she said, "inappropriate" more often than any other word. It's just what I do. While some may see my jokes as being grossly insensitive, I actually think they reflect a deep sensitivity. Making fun of things is a way for me to circumvent actually contemplating how horrible things can be. If I make a joke about DADT, I was gonna dress up in fatigues this year for Halloween and grope other men, then I don't have to consider the incredible hypocrisy and injustice inherent in living in a country that doesn't even value you enough to let you die for it. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy so either I have to make light of everything or I have to sink into depression because when you really think about it, there is a lot in this world to feel sad about.

This prompt reminds me of a night back in freshman year at Madison. I was reading for class and there was this photo in one of the chapters. Even now looking at it makes me really upset as I'm sure it makes many of you. It is because of the realities of life and the world that I respond with inappropriateness. It's my version of the church giggles.

I don't know if being ridiculously inappropriate makes me beautiful, but I do think my capacity for empathy and sensitivity does.