Writes of Passage: Brandon Bennett

Dear Brandon,

I know things are pretty rough on you right now. You think you don't have many friends and that you'll never get out of Daytona Beach. That your brothers all hate you and that their goal is to mercilessly tease you for eternity. I even know that you keep thinking about the rope out in the shop...

NOW LISTEN HERE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!!

Your life will change! Your brothers, all five of them, accept you for who you are. Brian and Brett will stop tormenting you, and Brett will become a pretty close confidant. I know, it's crazy!

You'll move to Atlanta, where you'll find success with work doing something you had never considered. You develop a large circle of friends and will have trips and conversations that will blow your mind.

And you'll find love. You'll lose him, but then you find him again. He will change your life forever— broadening your horizons and getting you out from under some of your deepest fears. He will understand you more than you ever could have understood yourself before meeting him.

Your life will become amazing!! You want to be here to see it. Don't let the family get you down.

From your older, and much more experienced self,
Bennett (because you know how much you hate being called Brandon...)

Brandon Bennett is in grocery management in Atlanta, GA, where he spends as much time with his fabulous friends as he can!

Read more letters in our National Coming Out Day section on Gay.com.