Waching daily Jul 2 2018

So I grew up in a conservative midwestern Asian American family, and when I came out

in my mid twenties it was not okay in my community to be gay.

I was living with my parents at the time and I had to move out.

And I was also part of a very strong faith community and they did not accept me for being

gay, and so as a result of that I lost a lot of friends, too.

So I knew I was gay from a really young age and growing up in Catholic school I had never

met a gay person, no one in my family, I had no friends who were gay.

Most of my childhood I felt really awkward putting on a Catholic school uniform, wearing

dresses.

I just tried to fit in.

I had a boyfriend, I tried to just get through it but I never allowed myself to really dream

about the future in a positive way because I just thought the future was going to be

very lonely.

When I was in college, a very close friend of mine told me that her sister was gay and

that she just had an idea of why people were gay, and that scared me.

Because I knew that she knew that I had this big secret, and when I told her I had never

felt so scared in my life.

Because I just didn't know what was going to happen and I didn't know who I was going

to be knowing that this secret was out.

I had to move to a new city and I needed to find a new community.

So I went out looking for churches that were open and accepting and I met an amazing pastor

there who told me that it was okay to be me.

That it wasn't sinful to be me.

And that really changed my life and it gave me the confidence to go out and try to find

more community.

But when I started to ask for help and started to try and find community I was blown away.

My life got so much better, I became an HIV social worker, I volunteered in the gay community.

I met people like me and the funny thing is, people liked me so much more than the fake

self that I was when I wasn't allowing myself to be my full self.

People thought I was interesting.

People thought I was unique.

People loved my ideas.

And so it just really improved my life, like a hundred percent.

When I met Jenni I really allowed myself to dream and think, my god, I can have a family.

We can have a normal life, we can be accepted.

I saw my family love her and I realized the future was very bright.

I just, I couldn't even tell you what it's like to meet somebody who just makes you so

happy.

And together we decided to go on this trip around the world because we really wanted

to find other people with stories just like ours.

Jenni and I traveled for a year and we traveled to fiftteen countries, and it was really then

when I realized we have this whole global family.

You know walking into Asia and seeing women wearing ties and going to Africa and seeing

people with faux-hawks like mine and going to South America and, you know, walking into

an LGBT center and feeling at home.

The world is a very big place, we have this great chosen family that you are a part of.

So trust me, it gets better.

You're a unique person and a very loveable person and I can't wait to see who you become.