Although most of my close family knows these, most other people do not. So, at the risk of being an outcast, here goes.

1. I believe in gay marriage. I believe that if two people, regardless of whether they are two men, two women, or a man and a woman, want to make a commitment to one another, they should all be afforded that right. I have had so many gay friends over the years, and most of them have been in long-term committed relationships. Some of them have been together longer than some of the people I know who are heterosexual. I had a lawyer friend who had two adopted children with his partner, and they were the most loving parents I've ever known. Both men were very successful and had so much love to provide their kids.

2. I truly believe it is a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion or not. There are so many scenarios where a woman would not want to carry a child - rape, incest, mean husbands, financial, etc., - and I don't believe that anyone who had not been in that situation has any right to tell the woman what she can or cannot do. It's not a question of using protection or not having sex. It happens to people who do use protection, and it happens to people who are married and simply cannot afford another child. It also happens to people whose fetuses are determined to be deformed in some way. I cannot imagine having a child with a severe deformity, and would not want to force someone to go through that.

3. I believe in stem cell research. This sort of goes along with #2, although it can be something that comes from cells that are had another way. My father has Parkinson's. It's okay and in the early stages at present, but I know that one day he will not be able to get around like he has the rest of his life. He is limited now, already. If there is something out there that can help him or patients like him in the future, then why in the hell would someone not want to do it? I would venture a guess that very few people have had abortions strictly for the purpose of stem cell research, yet that is what everyone harps upon. It's silly.

When I was in college, I could stay up all night long studying or hanging out with friends, and then get up the next morning and do it all over again. I'm too old for that now! I think that my body is just getting older, and my mind is smarter, honestly. My mind is like, "Yo, it's stupid to stay up all night. You're really not missing anything by going to bed!"