I’m From Florence, SC. When I was born, you, in your arrogance, chose to saddle me with your name. A seventeen-year-old boy making the assumption that he had done something worthy of having his name carried through another generation; when in truth the only thing of note you had accomplished in life was the seduction of a teenage female.

I’m From Aguada, Puerto Rico. My town is 95 miles west of San Juan and if you are a fan of The Amazing Race, parts of my town were featured a couple of seasons ago. In hindsight, I had a happy childhood, but like every gay kid, I grew up thinking my parents hated me. As a child, it was obvious I was different and my parents could not help but notice. I was picked on in school, was called a faggot on a daily basis and sometimes was even hit. My parents tried to make me defend myself to no avail. In a certain way, they had their own growing up to do before they could help me.

I’m From Milwaukee, WI. This is the story of the only time I ever breached my ethical duties as a lawyer.

I was not that long out of law school, and in the mid-1990’s in Southern California, it was a tough job market for new attorneys. I got a job working for a public interest law firm. It was actually fun stuff, Constitutional law mainly fighting speech codes on college campuses. The organization got a lot of donations from politically conservative funders. But who the funders were didn’t concern me very much; not only was I making money but I was protecting free speech rights along the way. So I had fun with it.

I’m From Lakeport, CA - Featured Artist. My father was a used car salesman by day, and by night and weekend he was a lousy, yet enthusiastic, do-it-yourself home repair man. There is a picture, somewhere, that my sister took of my father in the backyard. He has a water hose in a gopher hole, and is standing there in a pair of bright, lime-green, zebra-printed baggy sweat pants, holding a crowbar and waiting for the gopher to pop its head out of it’s flooded hole so my father can smite it with a crowbar, thus putting an end to the numerous gopher holes that dotted our back lawn.

I’m From Middleburg Heights, OH. I come from a quiet midwestern suburb of Cleveland. Hardly diverse and overall has a tone of intolerance just lurking below the surface for anything not white, straight, and moderately wealthy.

My parents’ close friend died of cancer several years back. At the funeral I met this wonderful man who seemed to know my parents and they talked. When I got home they told me he was their deceased friend’s partner. I had never knowingly met a gay person before and I wasn’t put off, I was sad to not have known him while he was alive.

I’m From Austin, TX. I don’t remember the details. I remember the location, the circumstances, the friends that were beside me and the strangers that helped them defend me, the way he made me feel, and how far I ran. It was hot. It was wet. It was a June night and we were waiting for their mother to pick us up from the mall. Lakeline’s facade was behind us as we faced the expanding mass of shoppers being directed by building personnel toward bus stops and waiting areas. An innocuous security guard stood nearby helping to calm the frenzy of kids similar to the three of us by helping locate their parents, showing them the proper bus to get on, and other things generally nice and proper.

I’m From Cut and Shoot, TX. I attended a small Baptist church and a somewhat small high school. I have lesbian grandparents, which I believe assisted in this stigma against homosexuality in my household. I believe that my mother always resented my grandparents for being lesbians. She used to tell me how embarrassed she was of them. Therefore, the idea of coming out was not an option. And as you can imagine, the people of Cut and Shoot were not big supporters of it either. So I did what any good Baptist boy would do and went to school, met a girl, and got married.

I’m From Miami Shores, FL. I grew up in Miami and didn’t come out of the closet until after high school. I ended up moving to NYC where I met the most amazing man. I was struggling with drugs and alcohol and literally just before the day I was about to leave to come back home, because I finally felt things were getting out of my control, was the day I met him at Union Square Park.

I’m From New York, NY - Video Story. I guess I wanted to talk about Dolly Parton today because I guess she is a symbol of goodness for gay people. And I’ve always looked up to her and I guess it started back when I found out what eBay was all about. I went on and bought every single vinyl record that I could get my little paws on. Back when she was doing Porter Wagoner shows and the whole nine yards, and I bought just about every single one of them and I put them up on my bedroom wall, and looked at Dolly Parton a hell of a lot my whole life growing up. Listened to every song she ever sang pretty much, and then when I came to New York I had a chance to meet her.

I’m From Grove City, OH. I stood waiting restlessly, fidgeting with my ring and glancing at my watch. It had been a whole eight minutes since the guard led my family back through the roped off Dollywood theme park gates, but to me, it seemed like an eternity. The wonderful smell of fresh bakery items lingered in the air, a tempting invitation from one of the many shops surrounding us. I looked down at my drawing, which leaned against the outside wall of a restaurant. My eyes scanned the three-by-four foot paper monument for any slight imperfections, as if I could do anything about it if I found one. The blaring of drums and the explosive rhythm of guitars escaped the walls of the theater.

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