Hello everyone! My name is Mayara Storer and I’m the new LGBTQ Justice Intern with On Earth Peace. I’m 22 years old and from Brazil, but I’ve been living in the USA for four years now. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication, and I’m so excited to start this position and engage with you all!

Talking about LGBTQ Justice is important to me not only because I am part of the community, but because I truly believe that people have the right to be with whoever they love with no shame or fear of not being accepted. Personally, I had a hard time accepting the fact that I could be attracted to other women. I had a hard time accepting myself. I attribute this to the pressure that society puts on us to be the way they want us to be since we are little kids (girls wear pink, guys wear blue). Especially when it comes to religion; some people use it as an argument or explanation for why they don’t agree with or accept the LGBTQ community, sometimes even leading to offensive comments. However, I associate God with love. Everything done or said that disrespects, hurts ,or harms other people, should never be for His/Her will. Because of that, I’m really happy to be part of a faith-based organization that brings the conversation on LGBTQ Justice to the forefront and gives us a platform to share our thoughts on the subject.

My goal is to be able to engage with the group and lead discussions on important issues related to the LGBTQ community. I would also love to share with you how the LGBTQ community is seen in my country and present resources to understand how other cultures view the community as well.

If you have any suggestions for events or discussions that we can have, please feel free to message me or send me an email at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to starting this work with you all and I hope we can learn a lot together!