Coming from a small town and going to a big university can be quite a culture shock. I went from attending an 800 person high school to being a part of the 50,000+ undergraduate students at Michigan State University. I made friends rather quickly, resulting in being a part of the great family that is "4-South". I joined the running club at the start of the semester as well. Everything seemed to be going just dandy.

As the days went on, I began to get distracted by a lot of things. No, it wasn't things like parties or drugs or anything like that. It was more internal than it was external.

Basically, as a result, I became a little bit secluded and took a lot of extra time to be by myself. It got worse because the more and more I thought about all these things, my emotional state just kept sinking. This "identity crisis" was getting a little bit out of hand. Not only was I thinking about myself, but also second-guessing my current major. There was so much information I was trying to process. The distractions got more and more overwhelming. How would I bring all this up to my parents? I was freaking out.

It wasn't until around November until I actually conjured up the courage to admit it to myself, to be completely 100% honest with myself. I'm gay and that's that. There was a brief period of which I identified as bisexual. However, I've come to terms with the truth. The main issue was coming out to my parents...my father most of all. Given his background (Mexican and military), I was unsure of what his reaction was going to be. Yes, he loves me unconditionally. There's still that extremely tiny doubt of...well, you know. Not only that, but there is also the rest of his family. I lived in fear of traditionalistic views. Not anymore. In this day and age, it's time for me to be set and true about who I am. So if you don't so-call "agree with my lifestyle", feel free to unfriend me, unfollow me, un-everything. If you're a friend and you "disagree," don't bother posting argument or sending a hateful message because chances are, I'll just do your work for you and block you right then and there.

And a message to my family members, with this big reveal that I've unveiled to myself and everyone else, I would hope you look past your views and learn to accept me as who I am. I would love to see everyone at future celebrations that may take place. Be it college graduation, wedding, kids' birthdays, kindergarten graduations, etc. However, if you are unable to do so, that is your own prerogative. That kind of negativity is not wanted, nor is it needed in my life, my family's, nor in my future family's. If anything, all I truly need and want is acceptance and positivity. If you can't grant me that so be it.

For anyone struggling with coming out, below are a few resources to look to:

http://glbtrc.colostate.edu/coming-out-to-your-par...

http://everyoneisgay.com/how-do-i-come-out-to-my-p...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-neece/the-pare...