Windy Sydney

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, I have an announcement to make.

My name isn't Sydney. Shocking, I know. Actually, I have mentioned this many times over the course of these months that I have been publishing WindySydney...

When my Mom was pregnant with me, she and my father had agreed to name me Sydney if I was a girl, and something else if I was a boy (I can't remember...). My Mom went into labor in K-Mart if I remember the story correctly, and in her hand she had a t-shirt. What was on the label of that T-shirt made my Mom change her mind about the name Sydney. Instead, my Mom and Dad named me Andee (pronounced Andy) and it isn't short for anything.

The reason I used the name Sydney online is because I knew my blog might cause tension in my family. Little did I know that my Mom would end up resigning from the church long before I did!!

I also used the name Sydney for security purposes (and it's a damn good thing I did!). I knew what I had to say wasn't going to be popular by any stretch of the imagination, and I wasn't sure how fanatic people would get. Some people might remember that this past March I received threats via this blog to my personal safety. I even had to contact the FBI. There are some real crazies out there!

It's important for me now to use my real name. I don't want to make it seem like I am hiding my true identity, or that I am ashamed for people to know who I am. It's simply not the case. The reasons behind using a fake first name are not important to me anymore.

I want to take a stand, publicly, with my real name.

This is me, this is who I am, and the is me taking a stand.

Thanks for those who are taking the stand with me.

With the Mormon Church trying to help the ban on gay marriage, I want them to know who I am. Who I REALLY am. I am not ashamed of my point of view, or of anything here on this blog. This is me. Andee.

Nice to meet ya.