I consciously realised I was gay when I was about twelve and am now in my early twenties. It’s been awful as I have remained in the closet and have gone through some really dark spells where I just felt worthless and like I didn’t want to go on anymore. I still haven’t ‘come out’ to anyone but have managed to almost come to terms with it myself – which has been a very long process. I’ve read so much online about the pride of the gay community but I don’t feel any pride; if I did I wouldn’t still be closeted. It’s so hard hearing everyone around me talk about gay people in an inferior way, especially my family. I’ve also read the most heartbreaking comments (mainly from people online) – the worst being the quote “aids is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”. I also read about a guy that got beaten to death for being gay yesterday. There really is nothing any gay hater could say on here that I haven’t already heard, so please don’t bother. I know society has improved so much but it’s still got so far to go and I just don’t feel strong enough to live as an openly gay person in this day. I am so scared every day – I have so much pressure placed on me, all my friends and family are heterosexual…so basically I feel very frightened and alone. My confession is that I’m gay and I truly believe there’s nothing wrong with it. My fear is that I will never have the courage to come out and that I’m not strong enough to live in a society that refuses to tolerate me and infringes me of multiple civil rights. I can never be free