Race, Gender, and Sexuality

It is almost a given that gender, race, and sexuality will affect anyone’s life in one way or another. I am lucky that my race has never had a negative affect on how I am viewed by others. I grew up in a majority white town with a lot of well off people. I never really stopped and understood that I have been raised in a fortunate town and a big reason for that is my race. I don't feel like I stand out in a classroom filled with people who look just like me; however, I have felt that way because of my gender and sexuality. 
Being a woman comes with different struggles than men would have. Because I am a woman, I am also a feminist. I don’t think that I would consider myself a feminist if I wasn’t a woman, or it would have at least taken me a few more years to understand the importance of feminism. Yes, being a woman had literally affected my identity because of societal norms, but it has also affected my identity because I let it. I embraced being a woman, but also acknowledged that sometimes things happen because I am a woman, not because of any fault of mine. 
There were another load of stereotypes that fell upon me when I came out because so many people told me how I didn’t “seem gay.” I felt like I had to change myself to please the people around me. My sexuality is something I have struggled with since I was young and finally understood what I was and what I could be when I got older. That struggle shaped my identity a lot because I finally figured out a key part of who I am.
Although I sometimes feel like the minority in a group because of my sexuality, I also acknowledge my privilege of being a white woman in modern society and know that I don't have as many uncontrollable struggles as others do.