MY COMING OUT STORY: MY FELLOW EAGLE SCOUT

            I’m pretty sure that no one else has a more complex relationship than me and my friend Justin.  We are constantly at each other’s neck because we know how to push each other’s buttons.  I met Justin when I joined Peter’s cub scout pack back in the day.  I thought Justin was a nerdy band kid that lacked some social skills and my thoughts remain pretty consistent to this day (in a good way though).  I too was a nerdy band kid in Jr. High.  Justin and I not only went to scouts together but we also went to the same junior high and high school.  We were both smart kids with high aspirations, which is where our competitiveness stems from.  I like to think of myself as more of a realistic dreamer, while Justin likes to think big.  Even though Justin and I might butt heads at times, there is not a more loyal and helpful friend that I’ve had.  No matter how mad Justin and I may get at times, it always seems to blow over and even in some of our darkest hours, we turn to each other for advice and support.

            Too be honest I waited a while to tell Justin about my sexuality.  I had no idea how he was going to react and I was scared that if another person at my high school or in Boy Scouts knew, that it would be harder to keep the secret.  However, one night seemed like it was the perfect opportunity to tell him.  It was Justin, Marissa and I in the car in our high school’s parking lot.  We do this time to time just to get out of our houses and talk.  Justin started talking about girls, as he always does and then he asked me if I thought any girls were attractive at our high school.  I responded “nope.”  Justin, brushed it off with some humor about our unattractive student body, but then he asked what kind of girl I was interested in.  I told him that I really wasn’t.  He had a really confused look on.  So then he asked if I like guys and I said yes.  He was pretty puzzled and kept asking me over and over again if I liked guys.  It’s almost as though he couldn’t fathom the fact that I am not interested in girls. His next set of questions got me pretty good though.  He asked me about specific guys that I thought was hot at my high school.  I was shocked and I didn’t answer because I thought that these questions were a little premature after I just told him about my sexuality.  Throughout this whole conversation, Marissa hid her face in the backseat and was laughing hysterically.  Eventually Justin came to terms with my sexuality.

Today Justin and I still remain good friends and my sexuality is not an issue.  We both became proud eagle scouts and graduated in the top of class.  Whenever we go back to Manchester, we always drive around and talk about anything on our minds.  That is the beauty of a true friendship, that someone cares enough about your life to listen to what you have to say and will give you advice on it.