Different

Hello, reader. This is the first blog post of Pride Month! Get excited. Last week, we analyzed The Ugly Duckling. I wanted to make the modern version of that story less traumatic, but still keep the core message. I think it worked out pretty well. Read on and happy Pride!

The leaves don't all have to be the same to be pretty.

Jason always felt he wasn't quite like the rest of his family. There was just something a little different, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. But his family did their best to love him anyway and he loved them.

He really started to notice it after he went to school. Most of his friends were girls. It just seemed more fun to play with them than a lot of the boys. No one really cared for awhile, but as they got older, the insults began.

In junior high, Jason's female friends started dating and their boyfriend's didn't want him around. They called him weak and other words he tried to shut out. Jason could see he was different from them, but why did it matter? He tried talking to his parents about it. They looked at each other uncomfortably. "Well, Jason, kids are cruel, especially at this time of life. It's not right that they make you feel this way." But they didn't have more idea what to do than he did.

Toward the end of high school, Jason started dating his friend Shelly. For their first date, they went to a movie together. Jason bought the popcorn and, feeling like he was following a script, he put his arm around her during the movie. Shelly leaned into him and it was kind of nice, but his arm fell asleep halfway through the movie. It was almost a relief when she broke up with him just before spring break. "It's not you, it's me," she said. Jason just shrugged and wished her a good spring break.

Finally, Jason made it out of his tiny town and into the college he wanted to go to. Now everything would be better. Except, it was hard to adjust to such a big school after living in a small town. He had been different at home but here everyone seemed unknowable and different. Jason started to get homesick, but he didn't really want to go home either.

So, he started walking. After dinner in the dining hall, Jason would walk across campus. Sometimes he'd stop at the all-night bakery and sometimes he didn't. One night, he saw a guy with bright blue hair. Since they started walking the same direction, Jason complimented him on his hair. "Thanks," the guy replied. After about a block, they parted ways.

A week later, Jason saw him again. They kept seeing each other every week and started talking on their walk. Finally, Jason asked where Jay (Jason had found out his name the week before) was going. "Pride meeting," Jay said. "Want to come?"

Jason wasn't quite sure what this meant, but Jay was cool and they had free food. "Sure."

When they walked into the office with old but cozy furniture and rainbow flags everywhere, Jason finally figured out what pride meant. Still, he had said he would come and it could be interesting.

"Jay! You finally brought your boyfriend!" a girl yelled.

"That's Trudy," Jay told Jason. "She's loud." Jay turned to Trudy. "He's not my boyfriend. He just seems cool."

Jason laughed. He sat through the meeting, which was more about hanging out than any club business. After awhile, Jason looked around and realized he'd never felt this at peace in a group of people before. He didn't feel different here.

Jason went back each week with Jay and learned a lot about the people around him and himself. He and Jay started going for walks after the meetings. It was nice. The group liked to hug and cuddle a lot and Jason found himself holding Jay's hand on their walks. It just seemed right.

One night, it finally hit Jason. "Jay, I think I might be gay."

To his credit, Jay didn't laugh. "I think you might be," he replied with a small smirk.

Jason smiled. "I'm gay," he said, just to see how the words felt when he said them. They felt right. And Jason felt like he found where he belonged.