At this age, I didn’t realize that I was gay—although I imagine others around me suspected. It wasn’t until late elementary school, around age eleven, that I started to become aware. As time went on, the Internet helped me make it through, by connecting me with other gay men around the globe. Eventually, the media provided me with great outlets to understand that life for a gay man could be great. Queer as Folk became one of my favorite shows during high school.
Working through these feelings was far from easy, especially growing up in rural West Virginia, where the redneck-and-Republican-to-homosexual ratios are greatly skewed. My mother frequently reminded me that gays would burn in hell. Fortunately, my mom has since become very supportive.
