I'm From Driftwood
The stories on I’m From Driftwood send a simple but powerful message to LGBTQIA+ people everywhere: You are not alone. I’m From Driftwood combats isolation and creates empathy to build a more understanding and accepting world. These are our stories, told in our own voices.
Latest Stories
Trans Man Thought He Had It All—Until He Found His True Self
I am Criss Christoff Smith. I grew up on a farm in Jamaica. When I was about six years old, I was on my grandmother’s farm playing with my older brother. My grandmother ...
Northampton—“Lesbianville, USA”—Faces Protest, Fear, and Flying Eggs at Its First Pride
I’m Jane Fleishman. I’m from Long Beach, New York and social justice is baked into my genes. I wanna tell you a story about how I got involved in the first Pride m...
“I Relish The Ability To Challenge The Ideas That People Have About Asexuality.”
As a sixth grader, I learned that I was supposed to start having some odd feelings about certain people. Maybe I’d want to kiss them, or touch them, or do something else that I c...
Finding Beauty in Black, Gay, And Feminine Men.
painting by Patrick Stelien Growing up in Brooklyn and Harlem from early 2009 till late 2015, I was fortunate enough to have a small group of friends who were like-minded and had a...
I’m From Hong Kong.
I think it started with memes. Liking and tagging each other in outrageous Facebook posts was addictive. Only then I didn’t know that this was your way of flirting with me. Very ...
I’m From Tucson, AZ.
My horoscope once said that with a new planetary shift it will be the end of “me” consciousness and the beginning of “us” consciousness. I will suddenly shift from self-cen...
Hurricane Sandy Results In Lesbian Coming Out To Grandma.
No one expects that a natural disaster or major storm would lead to someone accepting you more than they did in the past, but that’s exactly what happened for me during Hurricane...
I’m From Chicago, IL.
If someone approaches you and says, perhaps with a gob full of French fries, that surprises are the worst thing that can ever happen to you, they’d be sorely wrong. Surprises can...
“Queer is Weird.” I’m From Atlanta, GA.
Queer is weird. I was 13 when I began to realize I wasn’t straight. It’s not that I don’t like boys, I just like girls more. I went through a few labels trying to identify my...
I’m From Rhome, TX.
Sunny was my first true love. She was half Native American with sparkling eyes and curly sun-kissed hair. The first day of 3rd grade I saw her and fell hard. I would go out of my w...
I’m From Columbus, OH.
I attempted to come out of the closet the for the first time at eleven. I knew that I was a gay at a very young age and my parents should have as well because I danced around in my...
I’m From Washington.
If I had the choice to go back and live life as a man or stay who I am today and die, I’d welcome death with open arms and kiss my little boy goodbye. I transitioned a long time ...