Well, it's June and guess what that means. It's national LGBT pride month. All throughout the month of June there will be pride events all around the nation. Now, I have never been to "Pride" but in the future I will most likely go to a event. I've also never had a boyfriend either since I came out recently last year. Pride has been around since the 70's; ever since the Stonewall riot. To those who don't know what Pride is, it is a celebration to show that the LGBT community deserve rights too. Pride is for people who want to exist without persecution.

In this article, I will explain how I came to terms with my homosexuality. When I was a young child I was considered "different." I wanted to be in Gymnastics, dance classes, and cheer leading, but I was pressured to do Martial Arts.

At my grandmother's, I played with dolls and My Little Pony figurines. Back then I knew I wasn't normal compared to the other boys. I wanted to do things that other boys considered to be "girly." I was bullied harshly for it. I was called many names and no one stood up for me.

During recess, a lot of the kids never wanted to play with me, even when I asked to play with them. They would either run away and disperse, or rudely say no. The only time people talked to me was when the topic of the conversation was about my brother Michael. I eventually gave up on making friends and swing, lonely, by myself. People always stayed five seats away from me every day.

I did eventually make friends in the fifth grade. We were considered the "weird kids" and I didn't understand why because we only traded novelty collectibles like Pokemon cards and Bakugan. Eventually, all four of us came out as homosexual which is pretty ironic. The fifth grade was when I joined the school band. I really wanted to play the flute. There were only two male flute players and I was one. The other one was named Josh. He quit the flute and moved to a different instrument. I asked why he switched and he said, and I quote, "the flute is too girly." I was the only male out of thirteen flute players.

In the sixth grade the bullying got worse. There was one guy, I'm not going to say his name to protect his identity, and he constantly made fun of me during gym and my electives classes that we were forced to share. It started with Home Economics. He laughed at everything I did. He called me horrible things that are not appropriate for this article, and pushed me down the stairs on my way to the Culinary Club. He also kicked my locker which slammed into my head causing it to bleed.

I know it was him because he was the only one near me who wore the boots that I saw kicking my locker. He just stood there laughing while I was standing there, blood covering my hand after inspecting my head. That day I was the one who got in trouble because I punched him in the face. I was the one who had to serve detention even though my head was bleeding. That man gave me paranoia to the extent where I don't like people to touch my back and neck region. I feared for my life in that grade. It was probably due to the threats he said to me.

After sixth grade, I moved into a new school district and it was easier to make friends there and I even had a girlfriend. During my time in middle school, I was confused and started to question my sexuality (during this time I wanted to be an artist, fashion designer or a chef). What I mean is, my girlfriend was pretty, but I wasn't attracted to her like a boyfriend is supposed to be. She broke up with me because we didn't have feelings for each other, but we are still great friends today. In ninth grade, my questioning worsened. There was a group of guys that called me names that are also inappropriate for this article. I did eventually get another girlfriend. Now don't get me wrong, I did love her and I had an amazing time with her but I was finding guys more attractive. In the end, we stayed friends as well.

While in the Ninth Grade I started to gain feelings for a boy. Some people already know who I'm talking about. I then realized that I might have been Bi-sexual. I kept this a secret and the only people who knew were my dad and my stepmother's family. Then I met my one friend who would become my best friend. This was the time where I joined stuff that the stereotypical homosexuals would do like drama, the band( it's a long story but that's for another time), and choir. We eventually started dating but it ended just like my two previous relationships and we are still friends.

During my senior year of high school, I realized that I'm actually gay. I kept it to myself so I didn't get bullied or lose my popularity reputation. I eventually told some of my closest friends toward the second half of the year and they were okay with it. Then during lunch, we would chat about who our guy crushes were and how fabulous I was.

The only people who knew I was gay were the people I told. I was scared to come out to others because of the fear and anxiety it caused. Would they give me negativity for it? I heard stories about kids who were kicked out of their homes for coming out of the closet. I also heard that people were murdered for being gay and that suicide is high for homosexual teens.

I then learned that it's okay to be gay. There are people out there who came out and their lives became better. If I were to be kicked out of my home I knew there would be places that I could go and be protected. So on October 11, 2016, during national coming out day, I wrote a post to Facebook and came out as gay.

I sat there on the couch at my college having a panic attack thinking to myself, "What will happen now? What's gonna change?" I had to have my friend come and comfort me as I rocked back and forth on the Music Department couch.

Within a few minutes the feedback was rolling in. A number of likes and hearts skyrocketed in the first half hour. People would comment that they still love me, and that they were grateful I was in their lives. They told me how proud they are of me and I was very brave to come out. There were a few people who already knew and told me it was quite obvious. It felt like this giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I inspired some of my friends to come out as well.

That day was probably the best day of my life by far. To present day I am just as fabulous as ever and I never regret coming out. The issue I have is when girls try to flirt and ask me out I have to constantly reject them, which hurts their feelings. I hate doing that to people. There was a time where I came in contact with protesters but I laughed and ignored what they had to say.

So I would like to thank you for hearing my story. I do encourage that if you are in the closet you should come out. You will feel amazing. I know that you're loved, and we in the community would protect you. Also, there may be some struggles that you're gonna face and people will give you hate for it. Trust me, I have been there and I ignored every one of them. So happy Pride month everyone (P.S. go to a pride event near you I hear it's really fun).