Being True to Yourself

Don't ask me why I am up at 4:15 am, perhaps overtired or it was the raw fresh corn on the cob I ate right before bed (so awesome)

In my early morning surfing, I came across an opinion piece printed in yesterday's The Gateway, University of Nebraska's student newspaper. Michael McManus writes about the importance of being an individual by sharing how his own willingness to bow to others' expectations even led him into gay reparative therapy.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a loser for the majority of my feeble 22 years. I was what I like to call a people-pleasing pushover, “PPP” for short. I was the guy who always tried to fit in, picked up the bill at restaurants and said “yes” in situations that obviously deserved a simple ”no” response. I was a PPP professional. It was an easy way to make friends and an even easier way to lose the small amount of personal identity that I had.

I think I realized the severity of my situation when I told my parents I would go to counseling to try and turn “un-gay.” I knew it wasn’t going to work, but who was I to disappoint? I put a smile on my face, gave my parents false hope, and let the counselor explain to me why I was wrong. I remember sitting there, listening intently. I imagine I was experiencing the same thing that guests on Dr. Phil go through. They know the guys full of shit, but they pretend to be interested. I was such a pushover. First of all, my ex-gay counselor was gayer than me and second of all, I knew everything he was saying was complete crap. I left the session drained and exhausted. It was that same day that I became comfortable in my own skin; I became an individual.

Read Above all else; stay true to yourself