Life has a tendency of throwing things at you when you aren't always prepared.
As a gay man, It took me years to be comfortable in my own skin, for many reasons. When I first realized I was gay, I was in elementary school. I didn't know what the terminology was, but I knew that I was different from everyone else. I was teased and called names like "Sissy", "Fag" and everything under the sun. The challenging part was trying to understand it all, It wasn't something that was really talked about and I didn't know anyone else like myself, so I had no one to relate too.
For years, I was angry and suffered slight depression because I had a part of myself that I could not share with the rest of the world. In high school, I started becoming more comfortable with my sexuality and began opening up more to my friends. I was a theatre kid, which helped me a lot with self expression and self esteem. After coming out to my family at the age of 17, things did not go as well and I felt even more alone than ever before. Not being able to confide in the people that are supposed to love you is hard. Being called names by your peers because you were different didn't make things any better.
SUICIDE...that was the only thing that I thought about. My mind saw it as a way out, an escape from all the issues I was facing. I attempted to do so twice, luckily it never happened. After high school I had the opportunity to move to New York and pursue my love of Musical Theatre in the Big Apple. This is where I learned a lot about myself and at last I was finally able to be myself.
I met friends that would change my life forever and had experiences that I would never forget. As I've gotten older, things have gotten better and now at 23 I can truly say that I am happy. I'm "Out" to everyone and I no longer feel ashamed to hide that part of my life anymore from anyone. Acceptance is key, because being "Gay" is only a part of who I am. My family is open and loves my boyfriend and that means the world to me.
Love Yourself first, because if you can't love yourself, how the hell can you love anyone else. No matter what happens, just know that it does get better. You may have to go through a few things first, but it will get better in time.
Stay positive, find yourself and don't forget to have a little fun along the way.