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>>Danny: I was born and raised in Burbank, California which if you've ever heard of it
it's probably because of the Jay Leno show. That's about really all that most people know
about it.
It's kind of known as the entertainment center of the United States, but as progressive as
the entertainment industry is, the high school that I went to is actually kind of conservative.
I can only think of maybe one gay male that was out at my school, and he was kind of the
laughing stock of the schools.
I think I knew I was gay in high school, but didn't feel comfortable with that fact at
all, because the one gay guy at my school was the butt of every joke, literally.
So high school was actually a very difficult experience for me. I didn't, I mean I literally
didn't have any friends.
During lunch basically I had no one to sit with, so I would stay in my math teacher's
classroom at lunch. And then on Thursdays she would have faculty meetings so I would
have nowhere to go, so I would basically pretend like I had somewhere to go, so I'd walk around
all lunch so that people wouldn't see me sitting alone.
That was my high school experience.
And coming out of high school I basically told myself that I was going to change that.
And it is amazing how just telling yourself that can... can actually change things.
And I... I got into UCLA and it's a much different environment obviously; much more open. I was
in an a cappella group there, and I became close with one of the members of that group
and she basically changed my life.
We would spend hours talking about this and I... I came out to her. And by the end of
my freshman year of college I came out to my parents which was probably the hardest
thing I've ever done.
And even to this day I get the feeling in my stomach and what I realized was it was
never going to be easy, I just had to force myself to do it.
The moment that I came out was like actually one of the happiest experiences of my life.
And of course they were very accepting which didn't necessarily come as a shock because
they had always told me that, "If you were gay hypothetically." I... I remember when
I was younger they would say that that would be okay.
I guess it was just difficult because they raised me in a very conservative environment.
I went to a conservative Christian church and a lot of the church leaders there actually
specifically said, "If you're gay you go to hell." And I guess they didn't know that that
was going on, but that was the environment I was raised in.
And it was also difficult in a society where you see, as the one gay male at my high school,
was the butt of every joke and where gay is synonymous with "stupid."
And actually my best friend would use, and it's hard for me to even use the word, but
would use "***" constantly. And that's the environment that you're raised in it becomes
easy to forget that the people that who love you will always love you.
But just know that if you, I guess find the confidence to... to share that who you are
with others... I've, it happened for me and I know would happen for anyone, that the people
that truly love you will not think of you any differently.
Be patient and realize that things will get better.