I considered myself considerably lucky, where I grew up was a haven.

For starters, the church my parents took me to on Sundays was very open-minded. When one of our members came out as transgender, our entire community showed up for Pride to show support.

Our school was a relatively safe space and my parents made a point of never using any kind of discriminatory language around me and my three brothers.

Yet, every time I considered telling anyone that I might not exactly be straight, I stopped myself at the last moment.

What if it wasn't true? What if I was only curious?

What would happen if I ended up wanting to be with a girl after all? Wouldn't I have made a lot of drama and difficulty for the people around me for nothing?

I decided that I wouldn't commit until I was more sure. That's how I ended up graduating high school with my "innocence" completely intact.

My parents saw a future for me that they hadn't dared imagine for themselves, but the only thing I ever wanted to do with my life was become an actor.

At school I was known as the kid who could quote whole scenes from movies and TV shows and in the privacy of my room, I'd practice Shakespeare.

My love for acting was no secret but when it came to telling my parents that I wanted to pursue it professionally, I simply couldn't.

Luckily, my brothers staged an intervention. Before I knew what the fuck was happening, I was starting my first term at The New York Acting Academy.

I was finally in a place where I felt I belonged, I even found a best friend in a matter of days. Vanessa and I bonded over our mutual love for indie sci-fi and smores.

Everything was easy, until Paul showed up a week after school had already started.