When I first came out to my parents, they were very supportive. To this day, however, it still hurts that every time I start dating a new girl my mother says that she thought I was over that stage.

My grandmother knows and loves me, and she says I have the right to love whoever I choose, but that she doesn’t want me to get married because God does not accept me.

I came out my senior year of high school. I loved school until that happened, when every day felt like a small personal battle. Guys who didn’t know me would catcall as I walked by. Once, someone approached me, put his arm around me, and told me that I obviously had not found a guy worth my time if I was into chicks. I have never felt so alone, and the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that I was going to a fantastic college in the fall.