by Daniel

Oprah, Rap & Naked Yoga: One Gay Man’s Coming Out Journey to Finding His Community

Hi, I’m Daniel, from Houston, Texas.    When I was 11 years old, I was at my aunt’s house and my mom happened to be watching an episode of Oprah. I noticed it waSo I went a little bit back into my shell, but I would hear comments on a pretty regular basis about who I was when we were talking about things like top and bottom. I remember gu...

by Chauncey Dandridge

Gay Man Reconnects with Family After Overcoming Shame and Learning to Live Authentically

Hey, I’m Chauncey Dandridge. I’m from Harrison, New Jersey.  My family was very macho. There was always sports on the television. I’m one of three boys, grew upSo I had already been a club kid, partying, doing ecstasy, doing this and that, but I think right after 9/11 is when I picked up doing crystal, crystal meth. I would use it to hav...

by Dario

From Peer Pressure & Unhealthy Habits to Pride & Self Love: How One Gay Man Turned His Life Around.

My name is Dario and I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So I grew up in a fairly religious environment. I remember one time being pulled aside by this lady. I didn’t know So fast-forward to present moment, and I’m still very active. That manifests in, I’ve joined a queer kickball league, which is a sport that I never played when I was a...

by Sharlot

Trans Parenthood: Daughter’s Birth Inspires Woman to Live Authentically.

Hi, I’m Sharlot and I am from San Antonio, Texas, originally.  I have a 3-year-old daughter. She was born three months before the start of the pandemic. And so I was still Eventually, I come out to my parents who are very supportive. I come out to my ex and we decide that it’s best to separate. I start socially transitioning, and I just start ...

by Erica Nix

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 al...

by Rick Anderson

X-Men & Real-Life Heroes Inspire Gay Man to Become a “Super Lawyer”

Hi, I’m Rick Anderson. I’m from Pearland, Texas. I grew up in the Clear Lake, Friendswood area in my early childhood in the eighties and nineties. And it was a communiAnd as that was happening, I reached out to that wonderful Baylor lawyer and it was just called them out of the blue. I think I was kind of panicking at the time. I called him and...

by Kirsten

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 closeAnd I had been suspecting at that point for years that she was, so I finally just asked her, “Are you queer?” I didn’t say, “Are you queer?” I was li...

by SJ

“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 chSo after toiling over this decision for a really long time and really thinking through all of my fears about it, I realized that it was something I had to do. I couldn’t con...

by Sammi Price

Choosing Authenticity: How One Lesbian Risked It All to Be Themselves & Thrived.

My name is Sammi Price and I’m from Neenah, Wisconsin.  I remember the first time that I had a crush on a girl, and it was in eighth grade in my little hometown in WisconsiPeople started talking a little bit. In my small town there wasn’t much to talk about. There were suspicions that I was a lesbian. There was talk amongst the crowds. But fas...