People always ask me “when did you know you were gay?” And as a gay guy, I have to think about my answer because I spent a long time in the closet. While I can now openly admit I was messaging guys online and even looking at Free Gay Cams (dating was out of the picture, after all!) – at the time I wasn’t ready to accept myself and didn’t want anything to do with the gay community. But I remember being in my early twenties and coming out of the closet. A bit of a late bloomer in life, I decided to finally immerse myself in the gay culture Ottawa had to offer me as a young man. I met some of the most amazing people, started dating, and very much had formative experiences that helped me to become the man I am today.
Many years later, I would (as many of us do) shy away from Pride because I didn’t feel as though it and the celebrations therein represented who I was anymore. This year I have come back around and have realized that Pride is something to be proud of in more ways than I realized.
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