Samuel comes out about the conversion therapy he faced at the hands of his own parents

It's pretty harrowing:



Whoa.

The father beating him.

The lies about how he was the last gay person in the country (the government had tracked down and killed the rest) and if they found him they'd kill him, too.

The moment with his mother on the roof - "I'll love you again if you change."

It's so sad that his parents can't accept their child for who he authentically is. As Samuel says,

"I can't change what I never chose."

Yes.

And that's the choice - not to be gay or not be gay, but if you are gay you choice is that you can either lie, or be authentic.

Kudos to Samuel for being authentic, and for telling his story to help let others know they're not alone.

This video was posted as part of the I'm From Driftwood project.

We have much still to do.

Namaste,
Lee