My Two Dads — And Hillary Clinton!

When my letter to Hillary Clinton went “viral” in early November, a lot of people started asking me what inspired me to write it.

I’ve been raised to believe that you can achieve whatever you want if you try hard enough. You see, I have dyslexia and ADHD and school is difficult for me. When I was little, my parents told me that it didn’t mean I wasn’t smart, but that I needed to be taught in a different way and that I might have to work harder than some of the other kids to understand.

My learning disabilities aren’t the only thing that makes me different. I have two dads and a twin brother named Spencer. I feel like growing up with a house full of men can be fun, but it can also be hard when you’re the only girl. A lot of times I ask my dads questions about being a girl and they don’t always have the answer. But I am glad I have two dads and a twin brother because it makes me feel like I am special.

My dads support me in many ways. They help me by talking to me and teaching me right and wrong. They teach me to be honest and helpful, to be a good teammate on my soccer team and to be a leader at school and with my friends. (That doesn’t mean I don’t fight with my brother!)

My dads are important to me because they got married the day that gay marriage was made legal in New York. One of my dads works for New York City and had to work that day at the Clerk’s Office, so they were the last ones to get married that day and the City Clerk did the ceremony. That was a really big event in my life. My brother and I picked out funny rainbow-colored rings for them and there were lots of reporters and family cheering us on.

I’m not the first one in my family to “go viral.” My parents one time were on the cover of Newsweek supporting gay marriage in 2003. Maybe that’s the old-fashioned way of going viral?

My dads have always taught me to stand up for gay people and to be proud of who I am and of our family. They are hard workers and one of them spent four years volunteering in our community so that there could be more affordable places for people to live.

When I wrote that letter to Hillary Clinton, I did it because I wanted to volunteer to help with something that I thought was important to me. I may never get another girl living in this house, but it’s about time there was a girl in the White House!