Well, I tend to not be very great at these introduction things, so hopefully I come off at least mildly interesting. Or enough of a train wreck that you want to come back and read my blog to see what happens. Either way works for me as long as you come back. So, from the beginning…

My name is Stefan (pronounced like Stephanie without the –ie), and I am from Kansas – the Kansas City area, to be more precise. I’m a 23 year-old student at the University of Kansas studying sociology. I grew up in suburbia surrounded by “perfect” suburban families – the good WASP-y types with a mom, dad, 2.5 children, a golden retriever, and a perfectly manicured lawn. I was the kid who lived across the street from the perfectly manicured lawn in an apartment with my mom and older brother. As you might imagine, a healthy dose of disdain mixed with jealousy for the WASP lifestyle colored my formative years. That was my life for 18 years. Fast forward…

I tried to fit myself into that lifestyle for the first 18 years of my life for the sake of some semblance of normalcy, and well, because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do. But after I graduated from high school, I came out to my best friend, went off to KU, and never looked back. I dipped my toe in the queer activism pool freshman year, but I didn’t really get involved with the community until my sophomore year. I became of member of our campus Queers and Allies group and then served as Treasurer during my junior and senior years. I graduated from KU in May 2008 with a degree in finance, and I have been working for Ernst & Young (one of Campus Pride’s wonderful sponsors) for the last year. I know, you’re thinking, “Wait, you said you are going to KU studying sociology.” That’s correct. I’m back at KU. A year in the business world opened my eyes a bit. I always wanted to go back to academia, but as it turns out, business is not what I want to study. So I’m now studying sociology with the ultimate goal of becoming a university professor and teaching about queers (yay!).

My views on queer activism and social issues in general are ever-changing and evolving continually. I support marriage equality for the simple reason that I believe everyone should be equal under the law, not because I support marriage (which, in fact, I don’t). I also don’t necessarily think that gay marriage is the most pressing issue facing queer youth today. Anti-discrimination laws, hate crimes, bullying, education – those are the things that I feel are most vital right now. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be themselves without worry of being in danger. And I believe educating the public is the path to that end. Well, I think perhaps I’ve drawn this out a bit longer than I intended. My goal was to give you an idea of what you might expect from my blog, so I hope I’ve at least accomplished that. I hope you’ll come back as I continue to blog, and please, leave comments! I really want to know what you all have to say. Until next time...