Introduction: The Meaning of "Gay"


Homosexual
ho·mo·sex·u·al (hm-sksh-l, -m-)
adj.
Of, relating to, or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.


Dictionaries are so cold, aren't they? They give you the meaning of a word, but only its meaning. They don't give the word any kind of connotation or depth. They don't tell you about the people or experiences that lie beyond the word.

It is this gap - this void of tangible information - which I seek to fill, at least partially, in writing this. Of course, I can't give you the experiences of every gay person who's ever lived, but I can give you a small piece of it.

And hopefully, sometime within our lives, we will finally be able to fill the void left by world, and discover what it truly means to be homosexual.

Chapter 1: An Introduction To The Life Of Pat


Before you begin reading the words of some seemingly random person, perhaps it would be best to know a bit about the writer, so that you might understand what my life is and was like.

Well, to start, my name is Patrick, but everyone calls me Pat. I'm 16 years old, and will be turning 17 late this August, so you could say I know a little about what it's like to be young and queer.

I live in a somewhat suburban, somewhat rural area in upstate New York, and I have for about 7 years now. The atmosphere around here is generally positive, but of course, you're going to have assholes in any place you go in life, so things aren't necessarily perfect for me.

As far as outness goes, I am completely out to all my friends and family (and numerous other people whom I may or may not know about). My coming out story is a bit confusing, and I'll save it for another entry sometime in the future.

For now though, my main focus is to try and give as much helpful advice to gay, bisexual, and questioning youth as I possibly can. If you are reading this and you feel like you really need someone to talk to about your sexuality, don't hesitate to e-mail me.

My e-mail address is: pjbrown88@lycos.com

I will try to update this blog on a weekly basis, so check back every week for a new story or article.