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 Queer Stories
“Um, But…Why?” Nonbinary Person Navigates Questions After Coming Out
I’m Aria Renee Curameng and I’m from Fort Washington, Maryland. Back in, I want to say 2021, I went out with a friend of mine and we constantly went to piano bars....
Queer Sikh Man Uses Visibility and Experience in Healthcare to Help and Empower Others.
My name is Sundeep Singh Boparai. My pronouns are he, him, his, and I’m from Queens, New York. I was a senior in undergrad and my mom was actually making lunch for me. And ...
Queer Teen Comes Out After Dad Walks in on Him and His Boyfriend Making Out.
I’m Andrew Gryniewicz and I’m from Seattle, Washington. In 2013, I had a girlfriend and we had been dating for about a year and a half. And I had always felt that may...
Keeping Austin Weird: How One Queer Woman Learned to Let Her Freak Flag Fly.
I’m Erica Nix. I’m from Arlington, Texas. Arlington, when I was growing up, was a pretty conservative place. It wasn’t really that cool to be different, and I alw...
Love & Loss in Russia: How One Queer Person Drew a Valuable Lesson from Their Teenage Heartbreak.
My name is Irina Groushevaia and I’m from Moscow, Russia. When I was 16 years old, I was living with my estranged father because my mom abandoned me, and it was a difficult...
Gay Aunt Becomes Queer Person’s Beacon of Hope Amid Homophobic Family
My name is Kirsten and I’m from Queens, New York. So when I was growing up, me and my aunt, my mother’s sister, were very close. There was an intensity to that closen...
“We Can’t Be Patient Forever.” Trans Person Finds Joy & Community After Cutting Ties with Family
I’m SJ. I’m from Dallas, Texas. I grew up in a house where it wasn’t really normal for us to talk about our feelings. That was really difficult for me. As a chi...
Non-Binary Excellence: How One Employee’s Authenticity Served as a Model for Others.
My name is Will Verchereau. I’m from Lansing, Michigan. In May 2011, I found myself freshly graduated from Michigan State University and crying alone in my closet in my apa...
Hate Hits Home: How One Queer Couple’s Lives Were Upended By the 2016 Election.
My name is Jovier Sanchez and I’m from New York, New York. So I moved to Salem with my husband in 2015. We opened a candle store there and it was on the first floor of the&...
Queer Man Leaves Behind Homophobic & Racist Microaggressions at Corporate Job & Thrives in the Arts
Hi, I’m Jeremy Rashad Brown. I am from Waxahachie, Texas. Seventeen years ago, I went to UT where I majored in American studies and music business. And upon graduati...
Cheers to That! How a Dusty Bottle of Champagne Came to Represent a Father’s Love for Queer Son.
So my name is Peter Pinto. I’m from Milford, Pennsylvania. I grew up in a very low income household. My parents were newlyweds, didn’t have a lot of money. We were on...
How a Queer Woman’s Life-Changing Haircut Set Her on a More Authentic Path. “It Was Like Freedom.”
I’m Natasha Sumner and I am from Santa Rosa, California. Growing up, I was a rough and tumble kid. I loved to be out in the dirt, out in nature. It was the place where I fe...
