Divine Intervention
PAGE 4
For years, Josh says he's been hiding his true self behind his weight. "I had so many different facades," he says. "I come from a very conservative Christian background, and I felt like if I was my true self, I was going to let down my church. I was going to let down my parents. I was going to be kicked out of my house. I felt like my whole life was going to reject me, and so I hid behind the fat guy."
When Josh told his father he's gay, Josh says he could hear the disappointment in his father's voice. "I just felt like I had let [my parents] down," he says.
Despite their initial reactions, Josh says his parents are learning to accept his sexuality, and he has no regrets. "If I didn't come clean about that, I was never going to get well," he says. "And, from that point forward, I started getting honest about everything. And you know what? Today, I'm real. I'm real, and not everybody accepts me, and I know that. But the people who do love me, love me for the real me."
When Josh told his father he's gay, Josh says he could hear the disappointment in his father's voice. "I just felt like I had let [my parents] down," he says.
Despite their initial reactions, Josh says his parents are learning to accept his sexuality, and he has no regrets. "If I didn't come clean about that, I was never going to get well," he says. "And, from that point forward, I started getting honest about everything. And you know what? Today, I'm real. I'm real, and not everybody accepts me, and I know that. But the people who do love me, love me for the real me."
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