I'm Jacob, eleven years old. I keep having thoughts about me and my best friend doing things boys and girls do when they grow up. I can't help it. Mom said there's never been a gay man in the family and I better not be the first. I want to like girls but I can't bring myself to "like" a girl. I don't know what to do. Can you help me?

My name is Anthony, I am eighteen years old and captain of the football team. I love my boys in the team but they can never know that I love boys. At school, me and my team make fun of the guys that are out of the closet and take off pieces of their pride. My friends do it because it's fun, I do it out of envy of their prideful image. How do I build the encouragement to tell my family and my team that I am gay? I don't want to end up humiliated on the cafeteria floor like we do everyday to the other boys. College recruiters are looking to bring good players to their campus and I can't seem to name any college players that are gay...and I don't know if I want Anthony to be the first.

My name is Jared. I am 14 years old and I've been going to church meetings to try and cure myself from what I am told is a disease. I close my eyes and pray to God to cleanse myself from my sin. I've been going to these meetings for almost two years now and I feel the same. I'm starting to feel like there is no cure to this. Maybe this won't feel like a burden if I learn to love my sin. I tell my dad that I don't feel different and he tells me I'm not trying hard enough and that I don't care about the family. I attend another meeting the following week but it only feels like I am burying myself in self-hate. I spend hours, days, weeks, months in my room in prayer and I don't find God but I find Jared.

I'm 17 years old, I just came out to my family and got kicked out into the street. I've nowhere else to go. It's a cold night and my phone will be out of battery soon. I heard of a shelter in another state for people like me. A place where queer people are given a place to stay until they can figure things out in their life. Unfortunately for me, my town doesn't have one of those places. Michael used to be name. Michael had a loving family, a bed to sleep in and church on Sundays. I'm not Michael anymore.

I'm a junior in high school and this is my first time being in the school play. I play Romeo in my favorite love story, Romeo and Juliet. I've practiced for hours trying to memorize every line and learn how to make my emotions and expressions as authentic as possible. I've wanted this role to give me the experience I need for my theater major in college. Someone in the audience calls me the hard F word when I step into the stage. Not the one that rhymes with firetruck, but the one that rhymes with maggot. Everyone laughs when the guy shouts the insult. Everyone laughs, as I leave the stage. Everyone laughs, as I tear my scholarship application. I will never be Romeo, I will always remain as Brian.

I am 24 and was just dumped by my long-term boyfriend. He says I became too feminine for him and that he is gay because he likes men, not girls. I guess nowadays it's a bad thing to be like a woman. Even worse, to be a woman. I can only assume that his insecurities got the hold of him whereas mine began to no longer bother me. My name is Chris and his name became past.

My name is Scott, I am a freshman in high school. I'm sitting in my health class and the teacher is talking about safe sex. We spend forty minutes being lectured on the many things that women can do to themselves to ensure they don't get pregnant. Us guys are told about condoms for five minutes. I ask about safe sex for couples of the same sex, teacher says "that's enough for today."

I met John this morning at a local coffee shop. I was reading a book when he approached me and asked to sit with me. He asked me if the book was any good and what my plans are for the evening. I told him I had no plans as I texted my family telling them I won't be able to make it to dinner that same night. We go to a fancy restaurant and he asks if I want to go back to his place, I say yes and we make love. He wakes me up and tells me that I must leave his house before his roommate sees me. He tells me he is not gay and was just looking for a good time. The next few days, he blows up my phone with messages asking me to hangout again. I ignore them. He finds me at my favorite coffee shop, sits on my table and tells me he misses me. I tell him I miss sitting alone.

My name is Robert, I just started college and met the guy of my dreams. I accidentally tell my dad that I met someone over the phone. He asks me what her name is and I fearfully say "David." There's a long pause and I am fearful that he will drive down to here and give me a beating that I won't be able to wake up from. To my surprise, dad says it's ok and that he loves me no matter what and that I should never feel like there isn't something that I can talk to him about. He says I should invite Scott to Thanksgiving and we'll have a feast with the whole family. I tell him my boyfriend is vegan and dad jokes saying that being vegan is unacceptable. I can't help but cry at the fact of me realizing that I am much more loved than I think I am.

We grew up feeling no one would ever be able to fall in love with the monster living in our vessels.

A few of us were welcomed with open arms and love served at the dinner table and some of us were welcomed with a shut door on our faces.

And some of us haven't been able to find you just yet.