Page 25 - Issue 17

It’s 2014 at
summer
camp. It’s
not the one I
remember. I
remembered
a lake but
this one
didn’t have
it. I
remembered
a mountain
but this one
didn’t have it. I remember sitting with some friends and
talking about my gender identity. I said the word
“genderqueer” out loud. I think Uncle Mitch was right.
That night, I sat down to talk with my 8th grade
campers. I’d played countless songs for them before bed
but they listened to my story more than any song. As
soon as it was over, one of the girls asked me to talk with
her outside. She said she was gay and wanted to tell her
friends.

Back home, I went out to a movie with my dad, I don’t
remember what it was. Usually I have fun when we go to
the movies, but not that night. I was shaking. My whole
body was shaking. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, not
the summer, not my music, not the movie, just one thing.
When we got home from the movie, I sat down at my
computer and drafted an email. I thought an email was