David Lawless:
CLASS OF 1971
West Genesee High SchoolClass of 1971
Camillus, NY
David's Story
Married to my long time love, Nicolas, and living in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento. Our daughter, Perla (18), graduated from Burlingame High School in 2019 and is now attending CSU Chico.
As a teenager at West Genesee, never would I ever, have believed:
That I would actually be ABLE to legally marry the person I love;
That the Nations first Black President would be the one to usher in Marriage Equality;
That I would be raising a child (who is currently a Freshman in College);
That my daughter was a popular cheer leader in High School;
That I would be spending my Friday nights at High School Football and Basketball games (and enjoying them!);
That my daughter would tell me that she knows a number of OUT LGBTQA+ kids and that they are among the most popular kids in her school;
That I would be a computer consultant;
That I would live the majority of my life in one of the most beautiful, diverse, progressive, successful areas of the Country, the San Francisco Bay Area.
It took quite awhile for me to find happiness in my life. It did get better for me, but it took a lot of searching. Moving to Fresno, CA in 1976 was the first step in the right direction, but...Expand for more
was far from ideal (I was the victim of 3 Gay bashings while living in Fresno, one involved a gun being held to my head and in another I was attacked by a man wielding a knife and I ended up grabbing the knife instead of his hand). I chose Fresno because it was similar in size to Syracuse and I initially feared moving to a major city. Then I discovered the open and diverse San Francisco Bay area. Moving to San Francisco in 1981 was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I no longer live in fear (well, I do right now with President Trump being in office, but I still feel insulated in the SF Bay Area). My life is definitely better now than I could ever have imagined as a teenager. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like had I stayed in the Syracuse area and I can't even imagine it.
My advice to anyone that doesn't feel like they fit in... Find a place where you do... Leave hurtful family members and friends behind... Create your own family. While it's true that we live in a Country that allows free speech, you don't have to be surrounded by people whose speech and actions are hurtful to you. Find your place in this world and find happiness!
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