When I was in the tenth and eleventh grade, right after I came out, I used to sit and cry all the time. I felt so alone. I thought I would never find anyone who got me or was like me. I'm black and queer. Where the hell was I going to find people like me? You know what I mean? I was living in Burlington, Ontario, after all.
When I graduated from high school, I moved to a bigger city and enrolled at a massive university, where our campus queer and questioning committee is about to celebrate its fortieth anniversary. Its the longest-running queer campus organization in the whole of Canada. So during all those years in high school, when I was sitting there wondering who would possibly understand me, and why I couldn't find them—turns out, they had been out there the whole time, just waiting for me.
A.Y. Daring is one of the many writers, artists, and activists who contributed an original essay to It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living, which will be released on March 22. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon, through ItGetsBetter.org, or at your favorite local bookstore. It Gets Better event in Seattle at Town Hall on Tuesday March 29. Tickets and info here.
