Jack Daniels has a new ad that's been running in several different magazines lately. I saw it as I was skimming through the August issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. The ad shows a bottle of Jack Daniels "Old No. 7". Above the bottle are the words "At Some Point, You Just Know Who You Are" and below the bottle is the caption "For Us, That Was 1866."

I didn't know who I was in 1866; I wouldn't be born for another one hundred and eleven years. But at some point I did come to realize and to accept who I am. --- I was, I am, and I always will be gay.

The point of realization came in March of this year. If I had not been taught to believe otherwise, I probably would have known this a long time ago. Ever since the onset of puberty I've been sexually attracted to people of the same gender more so than those of the opposite gender. For years and years I denied that I was having these feelings, I prayed earnestly for them to go away, but they never did. I grew up being taught that everyone was born heterosexual and that homosexuals were sick people who chose to sin by living out their perverted fantasies. In middle school and high school if people thought you were gay, you would be beaten up and made fun of. So, not being one who loves to be beaten up, I hid my feelings, denied my feelings, and prayed that God would make me "normal" like everyone else. My prayers went unanswered, my attraction towards members of the same sex only grew stronger.

Finally, in March of 1999 I stopped denying everything I've ever felt, and I accepted who I am -- I'm a 22 year old gay male, and this drinks on the house.

I created this web site so that I would have a place to record my feelings and my thoughts. This page is foremost created for me. But I also know how hard it can be for heterosexuals to understand homosexuality, so I also create this site as an attempt to explain. I feel no personal need to justify my actions, because I realize that ultimately everything is between me and God; but I do know that there are individuals out there who do want to understand and who sincerely try to understand. I dedicate this site to them.