Shout OUT from Charlotte, North Carolina

[amayesd]

hello everyone

[Zerbie]

Welcome John. I am very moved by your story. Thank you for having the courage to share all of that with strangers.

There are some points in your story I relate to very much myself, though we are of greatly different backgrounds.

In particular, the issues of 'growing up' emotionally/psychologically as a chronological adult. . .well, that is not so uncommon! It happens more often than perhaps you think! My own growing up process has been entirely non-chronological, yes, completely out of order! In some ways, that was because I too hit a roadblock on my path dealing with my sexuality (for details, scroll down the Hi My Name Is forum until you see my first thread (called something like "Hi there!") and if you want, read how my mom responded to gay issues when I was a small child - it set me back about a decade). But for me, the greatest part of the non-chronological growing up happened for other, far more unfortunate reasons, which are not relevant to this forum. Suffice to say, I'm terribly familiar with trauma and many, many things that people might consider weird, because of the trauma.

I also relate to having your whole life revolve around your work. Lots of us do that, too. I'm a singer, and for 20 years I was single-minded about nothing BUT (in some ways as an avoidance of sexuality and other issues, and in some ways because it is my true calling), and now at 30 I am re-assessing the ways singing fits into my own path in life.

Anyway - didn't mean to hijack your thread! You shared so much, out of reflex I respond in kind!

Thanks for your post. I look forward to seeing you around the boards some more. Welcome!

[Jamie McDaniel]

Hi John, and welcome to the Soulforce forums!

Your story was both interesting and moving. After reading about your journey and eventual coming out, I thought the last part, the letter to your friends, family, and church, was nicely written. I'm curious... how did the church respond to your letter?

[SolInvictus]

Wow - thank you for describing what you went through. Compared to my situation, yours is better. I'm 26 & only really accepted my sexual orientation about 1-2 yrs. ago. Just began really dating too.

I really understand what you mean about experiencing the confusion as a teenager & unable to resolve it due to closet issues. My dad is a fundamentalist pastor & I don't know if/when I'll come out to him.

Blessings & Peace to You,
Sol Invictus

P.S. Congrats on your success & thats great most in your denom. are more understanding. I've recently joined a UCC church, which is liberating compared to the denom. of my upbringing.