My "coming out" story really began in eighth grade. This was the first time in my life that I thought I was different than what society told me I was supposed to be. I ignored it for the following two years because I didn't understand it and I didn't want to be different. I didn't think I could be successful if I was gay. I thought that everyone would turn against me. I struggled to show my true identity.

Then in May of 2011, I attended a Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership seminar (HOBY) and my thoughts about myself totally changed. At HOBY I accepted that I was gay, but I wasn't ready to come out to the people around me. Accepting myself was still a step in the right direction because if I wasn't going to accept myself, how was I going to expect everyone else to accept me?

It was the beginning of 11th grade when I realized that I had a real physical crush on a girl, but I couldn't do anything about it because nobody knew this part of me. I decided that I wasn't going to date at all and used the excuse, "I'm focusing on my school work and athletics." For the most part it was easy not dating because I truly wanted to do well in school and my sports, however it became difficult overtime because I was still hiding who I was. I was lying to everyone around me and continued to ignore the truth about myself by getting involved in more activities. I became the president of two organizations, was playing two sports, and was involved in countless other activities.

Then I went off to college and decided that I was finally going to be the real me. I was given the chance to start fresh, but I didn't take advantage of that chance. During my freshman year is when things really got bad for me. I started talking to a lot of girls, but I still was not comfortable telling the people around me. I didn't know where I fit into this world and most nights I cried myself to sleep. Everything was hitting me at once and I didn't have anybody to turn to until I decided to make a change. It was right before winter break and I saw a flyer for an LGBT event on campus. Attending one event lead to me participating in a lot more events. Through these events I gained the confidence to tell my family.

Sometimes things don't go in your favor. I had decided that I was going to tell my family during winter break, but, unfortunately, this was the same time that my parents decided to separate, and I didn't want to add to the fire. Therefore, I kept quiet and went back to my second semester even more miserable. Luckily, it was track season and that distracted me. During this time I was talking to a girl on a daily basis, but still struggling with the idea of being out. After track, it was the end of the semester and time to go home for summer break.

A couple weeks into summer break I met Kelcie (my wife, now) on a messaging app. She asked me to be her girlfriend, but I knew I couldn't date her until I came out. June 7th, 2014, was when I finally gained the confidence to be myself. I started bawling and after a long list of guesses of what was wrong, my oldest sister finally guessed right. The fear that I had for so many years wasn't even worth it because my family accepted me just as I was.

Although my immediate family accepted me for who I was, some of my family members still don't understand it as well as some other acquaintances. And even though I am "out", everyday results in me having to come out all over again to new people. Each time it gets a little easier, but there is still always that fear in the back of my mind. At the end of the day it is all worth it though. I get to wake up every day and be my true authentic self.

If you are struggling with coming out, it's okay. You will know when the time is right. Don't force it out, just let it happen. Stop back next week to find out why it was important for me to come out when I did.