“‘This is it! We’re going to be a forever family!’ Hector ran towards me and jumped in my arms. He hugged me and squeezed me tight as he said, ‘I love you so much, I love you so, so much.’ There he was, the one I had cried, prayed, and hoped for.”
‘As I was getting ready to terminate my foster license, I got the call: ‘Mr. Ramos, do you remember Hector?’ My eyes widened. 3 days later he walked into my life, forever.’: Single dad adopts son with autism after emotional journey
‘Yeah… okay. I’m definitely not straight.’ I was married to a man. I confessed, I cried, I asked God to take it away.’: Queer woman embraces identity after 31 years, ‘My sexuality is perfect, as God intended it to be’
“I knew I couldn’t act on it because of my religious upbringing. My attraction to women didn’t matter, and I was going to ignore it.”
‘How can ‘I’ be gay?’ Gay guys have great hair, creamy skin, and abs. I had a HUGE belly hanging over my pants.’: Gay man learns body acceptance, ‘Being plus-sized doesn’t define me’
“Nothing fit right. My mom brought me to the ‘husky’ section. ‘What does husky mean?’ She said, ‘It’s for boys like you.’ BOOM. There it was. It wasn’t what she said. It was how she said it, in an almost hush, as if it was something embarrassing to be discussed.”
‘The test was positive.’ My heart stopped. The world came crashing down around me. I thought my life was ending.’: Man diagnosed with HIV becomes advocate, ‘My world is brighter’
“All I could think was, ‘I’m going to die.’ How would I tell my parents and friends? I found myself sitting on the beach, staring into the ocean. I wanted to throw myself in and not come back. I wanted this pain to be gone.”
‘We have an 11-year-old with identity issues. Would you be able to take him in?’ We said yes to 30 days from now. Then we received a call: ‘Can he move in today?’: LGBT couple adopt 4 children from foster care
“‘Am I too young? Am I good enough?’ The fear set in. Soon, he arrived at our house with nothing but two trash bags, his life packed away in them. His shoes were too small, his clothes barely fit. The days of bouncing from home to home would finally be over.”
‘Is something wrong?’ my wife asked. ‘We need to talk.’ I told myself I’d stop thinking about being gay if I had a kid.’: Gay dad comes out of the closet, ‘I regret not doing it sooner’
“‘You’re gay, you’re gay.” My thoughts were constant. But I needed to start a family. I told myself I’d stop thinking about being gay if I had a kid.”
‘They let children go to TWO MEN? And she’s BLACK!’ She stood with a pen in one hand and paper in the other.’: Gay dads encounter judgement, ‘See the love, not the people”
“’How’d you get her?’ I responded, ‘We adopted her.’ Her eyes bulged. ‘I’m just in shock. TWO WHITE MEN?’’
‘When we saw the ultrasound, I almost fainted. ‘We need to hire some staff!’ It was an enormous gift.’: Gay dads welcome triplets through surrogacy, ‘We’re surrounded by love’
“We’d basically given up hope. We never asked them. They asked US. Two women wanted to help us create the family we had always wanted.”
‘She was hit by a tractor. She didn’t feel anything.’ I started crying hysterically. She was my soulmate, how was I supposed to move on?’: Woman with autism finds ‘special and strong bonds’ in cats
“The farmer didn’t notice. His daughter had found her body an hour later and put her in our driveway because she knew she was my cat. It was my worst nightmare coming true. I started screaming NOOO and crying hysterically.”
‘We hid under the guise of ‘best friends.’ Suspicious, my roommates logged onto my Facebook. They exposed our romantic messages to mutual friends and strangers.’: LGBTQ+ woman details brave ‘coming out’ journey
“That night, while on our big red couch in our cozy den, my mom turned to me and asked, ‘Kaila, are you gay?’ I spilled my heart out. She didn’t interrupt. She didn’t insert her feelings or her worries. She simply listened, and assured me how much she loves me.”
