Me

comparison to the love she feels for her child.
    There are some decisions that are very hard to make. But once we make them, we realize that we are stronger, happier, and more complete. We realize that we are able to do so much more than we ever imagined. Throughout the process of writing this book and baring my soul, I have learned so much. It was difficult, at times terrifying, but now I see it was a necessary step, critical for the sake of moving forward.
    When I look back and think about all the angst I felt about my sexuality, and how afraid I was to tell it to the world, it makes me sad. I went through so much pain and so much tension, and now I can’t believe I made such a big deal of something that now seems so simple. For a very long time I was convinced that if I came out of the closet, something bad, something truly terrible would happen. I would lose my fans, my gang would reject me, and my life would fall to the ground. But all those thoughts were based on fear, because when I came out, not only did nothing bad happen, but now I am a million times better than I was before. If someone had asked me a few years ago if I was happy with my life, I would have very honestly responded yes. But now that I have taken this extraordinary step, I realize what it means to be truly happy. I hope that everyone, in their own life, can experience a process of rebirth, an awakening such as this one. I am not saying that everyone should come out as a homosexual, but rather that everyone should make an effort to liberate him- or herself from whatever it is that is holding them back.
    This is the life I have been meant to live. My story was not one where I wake up at six a.m., make breakfast, kiss my wife on the cheek, get in a car, drive myself to work, and at five o’clock drive back, make dinner, make love to my wife, and go to sleep.
    My life will always be a little different from everyone else’s, and I am not going to fight it. On the contrary, I am going to accept it. I do accept it. I accept it because I know that’s why I am who I am today, and just because my life is not the same as many others’ does not mean I cannot be happy. The Serenity Prayer says it beautifully. These are words I always carry close to my heart:
    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
    It’s true: I have to know what I can change and what I can’t. My life is beautiful the way it is—why would I change it? That’s how it is. I accept it and I adore it. I feel proud of it.
    I believe everyone needs to accept the life they were given. That doesn’t mean one should not live it as fully as possible, but ultimately what’s really important is to accept and love oneself, to be happy and do good. And if you are different in the eyes of others, that is also part of your lesson in this life, because you have to learn to accept yourself exactly as you are without sacrificing your dreams in order to please others, or follow supposed social codes. You are beautiful just as you are. Instead of thinking, “I am different from them,” try saying, “They are different from me.” Anyone who is not on your same evolutionary and spiritual frequency will distance himself from you, while all those who are on the same evolutionary and spiritual frequency as you will come closer to you; you will see how amazing it is to discover that everyone who needs to be by your side will ultimately appear in your life in the most spontaneous and divine manner. That’s how powerful the mind is!
    My intention in this book is not to dispense life lessons to other people. I simply wanted to talk about my own life and everything I have learned along the way. If my lessons serve anyone else, this gives me great joy. But the truth of the matter is that I did this for my children and for myself. There are people who may ask themselves why I decided to write a memoir at only age thirty-eight. Memoirs are normally written toward the end of one’s life, and one would hope that I still have many more years ahead of me. . . . The truth is, I feel that this is only the beginning. I have a whole new life ahead of me, and now that I am at a crossroads, I feel a deep need to stop and tell the world what I am made of. Now I realize that the most profound lessons in the world typically come in the simplest of ways. I had to see, suffer, enjoy, and live what I have lived to arrive at