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Why wasn’t I normal?

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I’m done lying to everyone, but most of all I’m done tormenting myself.

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I never formally came out online. And I’m wondering now if this makes me a lousy member of the LGBTQ+ community or a coward.

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I was learning to walk before running. And some didn’t understand that. That I needed time. Time to rise, and time to shine as who I am.

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When coming out of the closet isn’t the end of the story.

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Everything would just be easier if she were seeing a guy, the way it was when she was seeing Jordan. Then we could just be friends. I love her and I’ll always be attracted to her, but she needs more than I can give. It’s real sad, I guess, but maybe things will work out.

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No words, no blissful chords from a singer, just pure cinematography magic and yet, the video spoke volumes.

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At Amsterdam Pizza, a man asked if he could sit down at my table, and I said, “Sure.” His hands and face had the purplish lesions that are the mark of Kaposi’s sarcoma. I tried not to stare at them or at the man, but I kept thinking about how the fear of AIDS has turned society hysterical. When Houston mayoral candidate Louie Welch said that his plan to get rid of AIDS was to “shoot the queers,” he spoke for many Americans.

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Your LGBTQ+ loved one might say they don’t want to talk about it, but offer the space, because the likelihood is that they probably do.

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Spending more time than necessary picking out underwear in department stores, wondering what the models looked like without underwear.