Microstory 260: Perspective Thirty-Five

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Perspective Thirty-Four

I’ve been gay all my life, and I’ve known about it for nearly as long. I grew up in a household where people were people, and there was no normal, and there was no hate. I never felt the need to hide myself, or try to be like everybody else. But I know I’ve been lucky. There are people in this very community who struggle with their identity; not just because their families don’t accept them, but because they’ve yet to accept themselves. I’ve sort of set up this little club-slash-support group for everyone. Well, I didn’t set it up myself, but I helped a lot. It kind of looks like we’re disguising ourselves as a group of extreme sports enthusiasts, but the truth is that a lot of us happen to like extreme sports. It seems statistically unlikely, but it just worked out that way. But everyone is welcome, and there are people who hang out with us but never skate, or anything. Or they do skate, but they do it casually, and really just try to have fun. The point of our club is to have a safe space for anyone feeling left out or unsure of themselves. Our little organization has grown over the years, and we’re even thinking of fundraising and expanding by opening up our own recreation center. But that might be a bit of a pipe dream, and many years down the line, if ever. For now, I’m just content to have a place to blow off steam and get away from all the drama. Unfortunately for that, though, there is a girl in our group that I’m starting to have feelings for. She’s such a badass. She’s fearless but thoughtful and understanding. She’s making me question my own identity, which I never thought I would do; not at my age, at least. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps my friendship with her just feels so strong and right that I’m mixing it up with romance. We just fit together so perfectly that I always want to be around her. But isn’t that what friendship is? I mean, how do you distinguish between a friendship and relationship? They’re about the same as each other except for that one particular thing. And I’ve encountered of lots of couples who don’t do that very often anyway, and they seem perfectly happy with each other. She and I are going to be planning the ski trip together, so I think I’m just going to keep going as is and see where it leads. I’m not switching closets any time soon, that’s for sure.

Perspective Thirty-Six