High school's come a long way since I was a teenager (or at least some high schools). I've often wondered how my life might have been different if I'd figured out my orientation earlier (I was almost 20 before it finally dawned on me). Most of the time I think it wouldn't have been significantly different in terms of how I went about my life. I spent most of high school trying to be invisible anyway, so I suspect that knowing I was gay, while it might have answered a lot of questions I had about myself, would probably have just added another thin layer of social isolation. Thankfully, my adult life, just as Mom promised, has more than made up for it. I find it heartening to hear that maybe the sense of isolation isn't so much the norm now—stories like this one and the rise of Gay-Straight Alliances give me a lot of hope. Now if we could just get the adults to lay off and listen to the wisdom and tolerance of their children… [via USS Clueless]