Still, gayness was something distant, almost like a luxury or privilege. People on television could have it—not an awkward high school student from the middle of nowhere, who worked two jobs and went to church and would probably live in the same place his whole life. It almost felt as if growing up somewhere like Northern Michigan meant it was impossible that I could be gay—gay people weren’t found in places like that. If they happened to show up there, it was a mistake, and I was not going to be a mistake. There had to be some other explanation for my personality, my difference.
