Bill's Story

My name is Bill, I'm 18 and I live in Dixie! My coming out was, I would say, relatively easy, because one, my parents are very open-minded, and two, my father just happens to be gay as well. I've known since I was around the age of seven that I had feelings for other guys, but, I also had feelings for some girls too. As the years went on, the feelings for the girls diminished, and the feelings for the guys grew. My father once told me, "Son, if you want to go out with girls, go out with girls. If you want to go out with guys, go out with guys." He has made this so much easier, and because of that, we have a very close relationship, and he is my role model in life.

While in high school, I did have my share of girlfriends, none of them worked out, which is what I expected, and my senior year, I told my close friends that I was gay, and that I wouldn't "come on" to any of them because they were my close friends. They all understood, and we still hang out, go do things around my town and I don't and they don't think a thing about it. They've accepted me for who I am, and I have accepted me for who I am.

I'm a very honest person, very intelligent, and open about my homosexuality. If someone asks me if I'm gay, I'll say yes, but I do not go around town saying, "Who-hoo! Look at me, I'm gay, I'm going to cause a scene!" Doing that is asking for trouble. I have been called "fag," "queer," and all those other names many times, but, I let them go and go on with my life. It hurts, but I still go on.

The dark side is I do suffer from Bipolar Disorder I (manic depression), but that is a result from my parents getting a divorce when I was 13, and totally unrelated to being gay. I see in some people, they are depressed because they're gay and other factors, but, you can't change the way God made you. He made us gay, it's not a personal choice, it's His choice. People should not be down because they're not straight, there is so much to live for, and that's my philosophy (one of the many).

If you've made it this far, I want to say thank you for reading what I wrote about my life and my coming out. You coming out may not be as easy as mine was, but there are always people who WILL listen to you, and I am one of them. I love helping people and hope to steer you in the right direction too.