School's never easy, but it's often made harder by the cruelty inflicted by other students and the indifference expressed by adults.  I came out in high school, but the taunting began in middle school gym class.  I wasn't an athlete and other guys in my gym class had no problem telling me how ridiculous I looked trying to do whatever I had to to get by.  From an early age I'd learned to dislike gym class when i was taken out of class for extra "practice" in elementary school and I was singled out in the fourth grade for my inability to put a volleyball over the net.

Middle school introduced the word "fag" to the mix and often the only time I found mercy was when they were picking on someone else.  Yes, there were the handful of us who didn't do well in gym class and we were singled out by the rest... and that spread into the rest of the school when they'd taunt us in the halls for all to see.  

It only got worse during high school when upperclassmen were brought into the mix.

During my freshman year, I spent almost every day for an entire semester dreading my history class where the teacher was notoriously late and I would spend the first five minutes of every class with my head down while some senior who hadn't managed to pass the class the previous three years would thump the back of my head and my ears as hard as he could.  I would feel the welts on my scalp at night when I tried to lay down to sleep.  Other students would either laugh or watch, but no one said a word because they didn't want to become a victim.  I put my head down so they wouldn't see me cry.

By the time I was a senior, I'd made some friends and learned to ignore the taunting.  I don't know if there was actually less taunting my senior year or if I just couldn't hear it because I wasn't listening, but things started looking up.

And then I came out.

I was talked about again, and this time my sexuality was confirmed.  I lost some people who I thought were good friends though the process but I set the stage for college and the rest of my life.  Every time I "came out" to another person, the sting became a little less.  It wasn't easy, and I chickened out on more than one occasion, but by graduation I was ready to leave behind those who took pleasure at my expense and I never looked back.

Since then I have gotten my degree and had an amazing life full of exceptional experiences.  I've lived all over the country, gotten to try my hand at performing (in Florida and California), become an educator in both art and HIV/AIDS, and developed friendships with people who I cherish.  My family and I have grown closer over the years and my partner now spends Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  

Life still has it's ups and downs and there are many frustrations I feel as I see the way some people are so slow to change their thinking, but I've also seen progress and I know this is a climb that started long before I was part of it... and I'm glad I'm here to watch what happens next.