photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Michael, in his own words: “My baby blanket was a giant quilted rainbow. At age 6, I met the first boy who seemed to have the same abnormal interests as me, developing what I now recognize as my first crush. At 8, while watching an episode of Dawson’s Creek with my sister, I learned what being gay was and thought to myself, “I think I have that.” At 10, my sister and I choreographed full roller blade routines to the Backstreet Boys Millennium album. At age 11, I read the first Harry Potter book and felt an immediate kinship with Albus Dumbledore. At 12, I Googled gay porn for the first time, gave the family computer its first virus and learned how to remove said virus from the computer all within two hours. At 13, I made every excuse I could think of to not hold my middle school girlfriend’s hand. At 15, I created my first female World of Warcraft character. At 16, I finally confirmed what everyone else had undoubtedly figured out over a decade previously and came out of the closet. And now, nearly seven years later, here I am living in New York City with an ever-growing collection of bow ties and an unhealthy fondness for romantic comedies.

What I like most about being gay is never having to feel embarrassed about anything.”