Welcome Carissa!

Dear World, 
Hello! I'm the new co-writer Ilana recruited, Carissa. I'm a straight, cis female American high schooler who feels very passionately about equality for everyone. Ilana invited me to write for My Virtual Sword to help me fulfill my inner desire to make a difference, for which I am eternally grateful. As far as my planned topics goes, I'm looking forward to discussing several topics that have affected me very deeply over the past few years, including depression, anxiety, suicide, equality, and education. In school, I participate in band, steel drums, ukulele choir, and Quidditch. Music never fails to make me happy. Over the years, I've learned how to play piano, trumpet, bass, ukulele, and guitar. My best friend and I recently started a cover account on Instagram which is helping me work on my voice, improve my guitar skills, and build my self confidence. Now you know a little bit about me! I'm looking forward to writing again soon! 
Allons-y! 
Carissa

Leonard Nimoy

Hello There,
I apologise for being gone so long. In my defence, I've had way too much going on over the past few weeks, with tech week and performances for the play I was in, Seussical, followed directly by the SAT, followed directly by a week of Ohio Graduation Tests, also known as hell in a handbasket. (Side note, does anyone know where that phrase comes from?)
Anyway, back to business. In my absence, I have picked up a cowriter. She is writing up an intro blog right now, and we'll post it as soon as possible. Also in my absence, Leonard Nimoy died. The intense emotion of his death, coupled with my discovery of which box from the old house contained my video camera, led to me deciding that this week's post should be a video blog. I had wanted to get into video blogging (*NOTE*: I will never ever say the word "vlog". It's unnatural. I don't know why, but I hate it with a fiery passion.) a while back, and I figured that now was as good a time as any to get started. Thus, I made a video tribute to Leonard Nimoy for this week's post. 
I know it's not anything like my usual content, but I explain in the video (which can be found here) more about that. Now, the video didn't exactly go the way I had planned, but I felt the need to get it out there anyway. I may write a textual tribute to him that says more about what I wanted it to, and I may make another video. I also may just leave it be. We'll see. For now, though, please just enjoy this video as well as you can.
In honour of Mr. Nimoy today's closing will be a little different, so Don't Forget To
Live Long and Prosper,
Ilana

Transgender Issues

Dear World,

I’m terribly sorry for my extended absence. I hate to explain it away like this, but I really do have an excuse or three, and they’re even true, at that. First, I was dealing with some major writer’s block. Honestly, I still am, but I figured that I should try to get some content out since it’s been more than a month and I disappeared without warning. Second, my family, especially my little sister, have recently embarked on a challenging journey. Over the summer, my little sister (then my brother) came out to our family as transgender. Thus began our six month long mission of secrecy, which ended in the beginning of the year when we sent out letters to everyone we know, finally ready to proudly proclaim her identity to the world. And so this past month has been spent supporting her, which I am more than happy to do, dealing with any negative reactions (which thankfully have been few and far between!), and reconciling with old friends who still wanted to be friends, but weren’t quite sure how.

Neither of my reasons excuses my lack of posts, but it does (to a certain extent) explain it.

It seems prudent to make my topic for today that of transgender rights and visibility, to honour my little sister. She and her friends, as well as thousands of young people throughout the country, and millions throughout the world, must deal with an unreasonable amount of prejudice and backlash for people their age (she is only 13, and most of her friends are not yet out of their teens). They face more discrimination, danger, and threats than any other person should, regardless of age. I don’t want to sit here and throw numbers at you, because that will do you no help, but I will tell you this: no matter what statistic you are looking at, the numbers will show you that a transgender person has a higher chance of being negatively affected than a cisgender (one who is born in a body that corresponds with the gender of which they identify) person. For example, according to The Trevor Project, nearly half of transgender youth will attempt suicide. In comparison, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, youths in the same age range without the classification of transgender have a suicide rate of only 10.9. Murder rates have an even larger figure gap.

Recently, the transgender youth community has suffered a great loss. Leelah Alcorn, a 17 year old transgender girl from my own home state of Ohio, committed suicide after spending a terrible five months imprisoned in her own home by her own parents. Not only was Leelah’s death tragic, but the circumstances that caused it were appalling. Here in 2015, after centuries, if not millennia, of complex gender identities and issues, how could a pair of fully grown adults with decades of life experience treat their own child in such a manner? How could they possibly justify that? What mystifies me is the way that parents, before their baby is born, often claim that they couldn’t care less what gender their baby is, so long as it is healthy and happy, but then once the baby is born, they become so stuck on their child’s gender that they allow their fixation to get in the way of the child’s health and happiness.

Leelah was a young girl with many thoughts, hopes, and dreams, just like any other person in this world. Her tragic death ignites a spark in me, as I hope it does in all of you, to stand up and make a difference so that no more transgender people have to suffer the way she did. Leelah left a final desperate request at the end of her suicide note, to “Fix Society. Please.” I intend to put forth my best effort to answer her plea and fix society, for Leelah, for my sister, and for every other transgender person out there who needs the world to smile upon them. It will be a difficult journey, but one well worth taking, because this world is the home of the entire human race, and all people (not only the ones who meet some arbitrary standard) should be able to feel safe and welcome here.

Thank you for reading, and my apologies again for my extended absence.

That’s all there is; there isn’t any more.

Don’t Forget To Be Awesome,

Ilana

PS: If you want to read more about Leelah, see this link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2891267/Transgender-teenager-leaves-heartbreaking-suicide-note-blaming-Christian-parents-walking-tractor-trailer-highway.html