Hello, everyone! My name is Jacob Cheek and I’m from Belton, Texas. When I was an undergrad student at TAMU, I felt isolated from everyone and everything, as both a deaf and gayAt the time, I didn’t believe I could be both deaf and gay. Ever since I transferred to UT Austin, I felt even more like a fraud in both the deaf and gay community. Through my e...

by Richard Mesich

Hi, my name is Richard Mesich, this is my sign name, I’m from Portage, Indiana. In my senior year in high school I was lost, isolated, and not sure about myself. I wasn’t happ...

by Ace Gilliam

Today’s Video Story was collected on the 50-state Story Tour. Check out the blog where you can follow us on our adventure. If you haven’t submitted a story yet to IFD, or ifMy name is Ace Gilliam. I’m from Las Vegas, Nevada. Basically I’ve been out since I was thirteen years old. I came out to my family when I was fifteen. My grandma passed away....

by Raymond Luczak

NOTE: This Video Story is told in American Sign Language, so you might need to turn on the Closed Captions at the bottom right of the video. NOTE: Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of more than ten books, including Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life (RID Press), Men with Their Hands: A Novel (Rebel Sat...