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From Michael K. Well's essay "Not-Normal":

I grew up in a town called Normal, Illinois. Go ahead, laugh. Everybody does. Here's the thing about being from Normal: You don't realize there's anything funny about being from Normal until you leave....

Being out in those days was unthinkable for me. I had a friend in high school who was more effeminate than I was and I remember how we would throw ourselves into school activities in an effort to shield ourselves from being perceived as different. We joined student council, wrote for the student paper, participated in speech and debate club. And we excelled. I became editor of the paper; he was elected president of the student council. That's how we protected ourselves, and that was the crux of our existence in Normal—being different could get you hurt, could get you fired, could get you in trouble. Neither of us wanted trouble.

What I wanted was escape.

Michael K. Wells is one of the many writers, artists, and activists who contributed an original essay to It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living, which will be released on March 22. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon, through ItGetsBetter.org, or at your favorite local bookstore. It Gets Better event in Seattle at Town Hall on Tuesday March 29. Tickets and info here.