Author’s Reflection

“Born This Way”

“Born This Way” was written for every person in the LGBTQ+ community who has ever been told they were wrong for being exactly who they are. This song comes from the pain of growing up different, the fear of coming out, the judgment from people who should have loved us, and the strength it takes to keep standing in a world that still tries to shame us.

For me, this song is personal. It carries the weight of being gay, growing up around religion, and feeling like I had to hide pieces of myself just to survive. It speaks to the hurt of being rejected, misunderstood, hated, and judged for something that was never a choice. I was not broken. I was not confused. I was not something that needed to be fixed. I was born this way.

This song is also for the ones we lost — the ones who were bullied, silenced, attacked, or made to feel like their life did not matter. It is for the people who walked into clubs, churches, schools, homes, and streets hoping to be safe, but were met with hate instead. Their stories matter. Their names matter. Their lives mattered.

Writing “Born This Way” was my way of turning pain into pride. It is not just a song about survival. It is a statement. It says we are still here. We are still loving. We are still dancing. We are still creating. We are still fighting for the right to exist without apology.

I want this song to feel like a hand on someone’s shoulder and a fist in the air at the same time. I want it to remind people that there is nothing shameful about who they are or who they love. The world may try to make us quiet, but our truth was never meant to be hidden.

“Born This Way” is for the scared kid, the closeted adult, the drag queen, the trans teen, the gay couple holding hands for the first time, the survivor, the fighter, and every beautiful soul who had to learn how to love themselves in a world that tried to teach them not to.

We were not mistakes. We were not accidents. We were not made to apologize.

We were born this way.

— FreeSpirit