I’m From Mariposa, CA.

by TJ G.

State Satellite overhead image from Google Earth 2022

Mom and Dad always taught me to do what I wanted as long as I felt it was the right thing to do; so I guess I went on doing just that. I began by playing soccer, geeking out on computer games, getting straight As, and being the best friend to anyone I could. I was your typical guy, playing sports whenever I could, doing homework when I couldn’t, and playing video games when I could be sleeping. Wasn’t high school great? So what happened?

Now, I’m in my second year in college, and my first time in a year and three-month relationship, with another man. When I first accepted it and came out, I figured, “This is going to be a hard life;” then I realized that I am probably really lucky. After coming to terms with being gay, which took me a whole twelve seconds, my life was still the same; two years later, yeah… still the same. The family still loves me, best friends still love me, good friends still love me, people I barely know are still friends with me, people I don’t know still don’t know me. I have yet to lose a single friend or a family member since I told them I am a big homo and life really has not gotten much harder or different at all.

It’s quite interesting, as I sit back and think about everything; I never knew I would be here today–not even the slightest idea of it–but I’m sure glad it is the way it is. I don’t feel I was born gay, I don’t feel I was deprived as a child or lacked love or whatever it is people think “causes gay”; all I can think is that my parents did a fine job of raising an open-minded son.

I know I am young, but I’m looking forward to the rest of my life as a homo; I’m looking forward to actively changing people’s minds about what being a homo is; I’m looking forward to being me, the same me I’ll continue being because I like being happy.

RELATED STORIES

I’m From Scotia, NY – Video Story. “So she told me father there was an emergency with Kyle in New York and to come right over to Grandma’s house. So he raced over, drove up to Grandma’s house, raced in, “What happened, what’s, what happened??” My mom was all upset and she said, “Kyle told me he’s gay!” My dad was like, “Wait, that…that’s the emergency? You called me for that? I’m going back to work. You didn’t know that?” And he left. So it was kind of funny.”

I’m From Yoakum, TX. “Finally when I had her totally engulfed, and pretty emotional, I looked at her and said, “Mom, I am just kidding, I am gay.” That is when she slapped me and asked why I would do that? My response was, “Well I figured if you could love me when I almost killed someone, being gay couldn’t be that bad.” She stopped the car and said, “Like I said before, I love you no matter what.”

I’m From Juneau, AK. “I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid it could hurt our friendship, and I don’t want it to. It’s hard to talk about, and I’ve been avoiding telling you, but I want to.” “Okay.” “I’m gay.” “Okay. It’s no big deal. Just slow down!” Apparently, my nervousness had caused me to tense up and clamp down, including clamping my foot down on the gas pedal. “Well,” I thought afterward, “that went a lot better than I feared.”

Sharing your story can change someone's life. Interested in learning more?