Category: Burning Down the Past
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GAY AND BULLETPROOF
“I became a walking weapon. Not the kind that hurts people, but the kind that withstands. Each moment of pain, every insult, every betrayal, they didn’t break me—they forged me into something stronger. The more I endured, the more I realized: I was still here. Still breathing. Still standing. And that was the turning point.…
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Why the Closet Didn’t Kill Me—But My Family Almost Did
“I used to believe that the closet was the worst place a person could be. That suffocating silence felt like drowning in slow motion. But I was wrong. The real danger wasn’t the closet—it was stepping into the light and realizing that the people who were supposed to love me saw me as something unworthy…
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The Things I Had to Do to Stay Alive
Survival isn’t pretty. It’s not some heroic battle—it’s doing whatever it takes when there’s no other choice. At sixteen, abandoned and alone, I learned that quickly. I’ve made decisions I won’t explain, not because I’m ashamed, but because most people wouldn’t understand. Survival isn’t dignified; it’s messy, brutal, and relentless. But I am still here.…
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You Could Never Walk in My Shoes
People love to talk about resilience. They throw the word around like confetti, as if it’s just about enduring a bad day, failing a test, or picking yourself up after some minor inconvenience. They call someone strong because they kept going after a breakup, because they lost a job and found another, because life knocked…
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I Had to Burn Everything to the Ground to Rebuild Myself
The first time I saw my own reflection and didn’t recognize the person staring back, I knew something had changed. Not in a small way—not in the way a new haircut or a different city does. No, this was deeper. Like watching a house burn down and realizing you were the one who struck the…
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Fuck the System, I’m Building My Own
They never wanted me to win. Let’s start there. From the very beginning, the world told me to fall in line, play by their rules, and accept my place. But their rules were never made for someone like me. Their system wasn’t designed to support a gay kid abandoned at 16, left to fend for…