I always say that coming out was easy for me, and I guess it was, compared to some of the messed-up stories I’ve heard about other kids who’ve been kicked out of home and stuff like that. But if I wear a pink T-shirt to school, at least one person will call me gay to my face. And I’m proud to be gay, but when people use the word as an insult—even when guys say things like, Oh man, that’s so gay—it makes me feel like shit. Because, when it comes down to it, some people still think being gay is a bad thing, or at the very least, second best to being straight.
