As we kick off our 15 Years of Cocky anniversary— I am reminded how anniversaries are made for reflection, and this milestone is no different. Growing up in South Louisiana, I was a scrawny-scarecrow-looking-boy, often scratched up and dirty from always playing outside. The last of six kids, I was usually the last in line, rarely got anything new, was picked on, and had to fight for attention, and I did not really mind it so much until the day I realized I was different, and not like the rest of my family.Like many, I knew I was gay at a young age, and that realization was soon followed by the painful understanding — hiding, lying, and becoming someone else were the tools necessary for my survival — mentally and physically.Years later, and through it all, I became an out-and-proud gay man, yet the lies and shame of my youth still haunted me — as they bound me to a past perception of myself that separated me from accepting who I was, and who I wanted to be sexually.I have long believed that having a full understanding and acceptance of one’s sexual-self is key to a happy life, and it’s important to not separate our “sex life” from our “real life”, as society wants us to do, because celebrating, owning and loving who we are creates a powerful energy that combats, fear and self-loathing and allows each of us, as individuals to control how we live.
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