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 Voices Stories
Top, Bottom or Vers? Gay Man Defies Social Pressure and Comes Out as a Side.
I’m Tim, and I’m from Montclair, New Jersey. I came out in three separate occasions over a summer. The first one was, “I think I might be gay.” And the se...
How One Trans Couple Found Love During the Pandemic. “Don’t Be Afraid to Love and to Let It In.”
I am Darius McLean and I’m from Newfield, New Jersey. About seven years ago I was working at the Mazzoni Center and the CHOP Gender Clinic. When I was working at Mazzoni Ce...
“You Will Find Your Way.” Transgender Woman’s Multi-Stop–And Ongoing–Journey to Realizing Her Identity.
My name is Samantha. I’m from Houston, Texas. When I was in college, just kind of finishing my degree at University of Texas in Austin, I started dating this guy whom I had...
From Hooking Up to Happily Ever After: A Lesbian Love Story That Defied The Odds.
My name is Danielle Stanziale. I’m from Queens, New York. It was the end of summer, eight years ago, and I was sitting outside The Duplex on Christopher and Seventh Avenue. M...
Trans Nonbinary Person Thrives After Being Welcomed Back to Work with New Identity, Name, & Pronouns.
I did a lot of self-reflecting and I was able to self-identify as well as to allow myself, my inner Shellby, to come alive.I am Shellby Forbes. I am from Brooklyn, New York. So in early 2000s, I started in the finance industry working in retail banking. And during that timeframe, I started off as a tel...
How a Crush Saved a Queer Person’s Life. “Falling in Love was the Catalyst for Accepting Who I Am.”
Hey, so my name is Grey. I grew up in Florida. I grew up in a church and in a family that was very conservative Christianity wise. They’re also Caribbean. There’s als...
After Coming Out to Filipino Immigrant Parents, Gay Man Learns to Stop Seeking Approval From Others.
I’m Justin Senense, and I’m from Abilene, Texas. I was raised under three pillars. I would say for a Filipino family, it was always food, then it was family, and then i...
“You’re My Child. I Want To Be There.” Iowa Mom Accompanies Daughter to Thailand for Gender-Confirming Surgery.
My name is Daye and I’m from Clear Lake, Iowa. Growing up in the country, back home, I always knew that I was different. And I remember at one point when I was 10, actually...
Gay Woman Leaves Gendered Uniforms & Homophobic Colleagues Behind for a More Welcoming Workplace.
I’m Leoni Terblanche from Pretoria, South Africa. Ever since I remember when I was a child, my mom put me in dresses, until age six, where I started making my own decisions...
After Homophobic Encounter in Jamaica, Lesbian Moves To US and Becomes LGBTQIA+ Affirming Counselor.
My name is Kimberly. I’m from Ocho Rios, Jamaica. When I was 10, I started at an all girls boarding school there. I remember getting there and I was pretty overwhelmed. I s...
Queer Woman Shares Her Path to Parenthood: “Being Queer Wasn’t Going to Stop Me from Being a Mother.”
My name is Rachel Reyes. I’m from Sicklerville, New Jersey. I’ve known since I was a kid, maybe 16, that I wanted to be a mother. I always used to say that I wanted sev...
After Being Called the F-Word at a Straight Wedding, Gay Man Immerses Himself in the Queer Community.
My name is Marc Barrett, and I’m from Belchertown, Massachusetts. In the late 70s, when I was basically on the road with a band as a musician and entertainer, I had to watc...
