While sitting in LLC dining the other day, a bright poster distracted me from my lunch. Nothing ever distracts me from food, so that in itself was a miracle. The poster was advertising a free drag show to be held on campus at 8 pm on May 7th in the GSH great room. My heart stopped and excitement filled my entire body, it felt like Christmas morning. I had always wanted to attend a drag show for as long as I could remember because drag queens are my heroes. Drag queens are the most inspirational people on the planet.

At the mere age of 12 or 13, RuPaul’s Drag Race was introduced into my life. My mom, a RuPaul fan herself, introduced me to the concept and asked me if I was interested in watching with her. This whole show entirely about drag queens quickly found its way into my weekly watch list.
I tried telling my friends about this amazing show, but they all told me it wasn’t right to watch something like that. One friend even told me I was going to hell because I enjoyed watching a show about gay men. You see, I grew up in a painstakingly conservative city. Being a loud and obnoxious middle schooler, I was always comfortable sharing my opinions. Sadly, my opinions were quickly deemed as wrong. So I began to keep them to myself.
A year after RuPaul’s Drag Race graced television with its presence, a spin off was created with the title Drag U. In this show, RuPaul would invite three women onto the show to be given a drag makeover by past contestants of Drag Race. These women typically felt insecure about some part of themselves, and the coaching queens would help them to find their “inner diva” and feel more confident about themselves overall – inside and out. While I didn’t enjoy this spin off as much as the original, the concept was truly incredible. It was able to introduce to a larger audience to how inspirational drag queens are and revealed to this new audience just how amazing they truly are as well.

On every episode of both of these shows, RuPaul will always share the same piece of advice: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” Drag queens exemplify what it truly means to love yourself. Contestants of Drag Race will typically share their life stories with one another while on the show, and many face an abundance of adversity throughout their life. They discuss anything and everything from family neglect after coming out, being bullied, to even attempting suicide. But after everything they’ve been thrown in life and everything they’ve experienced, these queens are always able to say that they are incredibly happy with who they are and how they ended up.

Drag queens are beautiful inside and out, and they inspire me to be confident each and everyday. I have learned so much from watching these drag queens on television. They have taught me what it means to love yourself for all of your perfections as well as your flaws. They taught me how to be strong and take life as it comes. They taught me that not everyone will like you or the way in which you live your life, but you cannot let them stop you from being who you are. I no longer feel ashamed to share with my friends what my favorite television show is, as I once did in middle school.
I just want to personally thank every drag queen out there. I strive to live my life with as much self confidence, uniqueness, and love for life as you all possess. As well as as much beauty. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a drag queen that was prettier than myself, I would have enough money to buy enough wigs to become a drag queen myself.
Follow Alysha Ferguson on Twitter @AlyshaNFerguson