Day Two. Question Two.

Where are you living, and what brought you there?

I live in Orlando Florida and was brought here by the wonderful Walt Disney World Resort. Christmas of 2005, I visited WDW with my high school band for a Magic Music Days trip. Magic Music Days is a program that takes high school bands and lets them march in one of the Disney parades on property. The parade we marched in was the 3pm Disney Dreams Come True Parade in the Magic Kingdom. This had been the second time I  marched in this Parade with the Magic Music Days, but this time there was something different...I had just turned 18, had a few college credits under my belt but wanted to explore other careers. 

While backstage at Magic Kingdom preparing for the parade, I asked one of the Magic Music Days managers how one could get hired here. He told me about the College Program, a program for students with at least one semester of college credits. He said that the program allows you to come work for WDW in any of the departments and they allow you to live in provided apartments with pay automatically deducted from your weekly paycheck. 

Well, this sounded like a deal from Heaven! So the instant I was back home in Texas, I studied and researched the Disney College Program. I applied, and went to an information session hours from home in Denton, Texas. There I had my first interview and was sent on to the entertainment auditions in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma after I expressed my interest in performing. 

A few weeks later I was in Oklahoma City at the Disney Auditions...and so incredibly nervous. I was wearing jeans and a button up, and everyone around me were wearing ballet shoes, leotards, dancebelts, split soles and who knows what else. The man running the Auditions called me over to one side of the room while we were waiting to be let in, and he asked why I looked nervous. I explained that I had never auditioned for anything of this magnitude. He just laughed and told me I'd be great. We were let into the room a few at a time after learning a short dance routine and we did our animation and dance audition. Afterwards I, along with a couple others, were pulled aside and asked if we would be interested in auditioning for puppet roles. I was quick to tell them about my fascination with The Little Mermaid show. We did the puppet auditions and we were let go.

A few weeks later I received a large envelope from The Walt Disney Company and I had been accepted! I flew from Texas to Orlando alone with two bags and $500 in my pocket in August of 2006. I was on the College Program from August of 2006 to January 2007. And I started working full time as soon as it ended. It was a wonderful experience, that I was so lucky to have. And thats what brought me to Orlando!

Day One. Question One.

How did you come out?

Who did you come out to first? Your parents? Friends? Siblings? Since my readers will most likely be gay, this is question one. However, if you aren't gay, tell me something you hid from your family about yourself that you eventually felt you had to tell them!

I have several coming out stories...here they are.

I told my best friends Lindsay and Rose first, in the early summer of 2006. We had just graduated and we were sitting in Lindsay's living room at her mom's house. When I told them, their collective response was...."DUHHHHHHH!" Their response gave me the strength to move from the small town in North Texas where I was born and raised, to Orlando, Florida to work for Walt Disney World and be my self. Upon working at WDW I learned that it was ok to be me, that guys who like guys were an everyday occurrence. I WAS NOT ALONE! HALLELUJAH! I moved from TX to FL in August of 2006 and waited to tell my mother until about February or March of 2007.

My Mom and Dad raised me for most of my life, but my Meme and Pappy (grandmother and late grandfather) that I will most definitely write about in many of my stories, is the reason I turned out the way I did. Although I give my parents the props they deserve for raising me, clothing me, and feeding me, I owe an incredible amount to Meme for the way I turned out; the non-judgmental, loving, and passionate man I've become. However I decided to tell my Mom first. I called her in early 2007 at night after talking all night at work to my good friend Gino about how to come out. I was totally convinced it was time, but didn't know if I should call, text, or email. Gino helped me decide that "the call" was the right way to go.

We talked about everything under the sun as I sat on my bed with my stomach churning and my face turning every color of the rainbow out of nervousness. Sweaty palms, check. Nervous chat, check. It was time. I said, "mom...I need to talk to you about something. No, no, no I don't need money. No, no, I'm fine...kinda. I just have been keeping something inside for a long time."

At this point I'm starting to cry and get shaky. I went on, "I...I just want you to know that I love you, and want you to love me...and want you to know that I'm gay." She was already crying before I could get the sentence out.

She replied, "Oh honey, I love you so much, and will always love you no matter what."

Even when writing this I become a little emotional because its almost like I'm reliving the moment, and realizing what it felt like to finally have my big secret out and on the table. Not to mention a phenomenal response from my mother. The next day I received a phone call from my then 15 year old sister that my mom had talked to her and she told me that she loved me and she sort of knew that already. Then a couple hours later my Meme called...oh Good Lord.

She said, "well.....I just talked to your mother. And honey, I love you. And I just want to talk really quickly about safe sex..." I couldn't get her off the phone quick enough, I started to cough and told her that I had to go!

Flash forward to Christmas of 2007 I decided to tell my dad. This is a quick story. I called on the way home from work. Flat out told him. He said, "....yeah." Done and Done. He then told my younger brother who seemed to not be phased in the slightest.

Skipping ahead to Summer of 2008, my Memaw (late grandmother on dad's side) came to visit me. We spent all week together playing in Disney World, and one night she took me out to The Cracker Barrel. I decided I should go ahead and fill her in on the situation. Before I got to the point, I was hinting around the real subject matter of my conversation. She started tearing up. I started tearing up. I finally got the words "I'm gay" out of my mouth. And she gave me the same outpouring of love the rest of my family had.

What an amazing experience my coming out had been. So much love in my family that I never really knew existed! I always knew they loved me, but I thought it was for the person they thought I was, not the person I really was. How about you? What is your story?