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Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’
On his Twitter page, Javier Ruisanchez describes himself this way: Eat – Sleep – Swim.
But he also finds time to occasionally tweet.
This week, the 18-year-old member of the Puerto Rico Junior National Swim Team shared his story of what has happened since he decided to come out in late October 2013 via Twitter.
His tweet read: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’
At that time, he was 16 and attending West Springfield High School in Virginia.
His phone immediately blew up with activity – so much so that it died.
‘I vividly remember the next day at school,’ he writes in a story for Outsports posted this week. ‘It was a Friday and I guess everyone in school had seen the tweet. I remember walking into my first-period class and people I wasn’t close with came up to me to congratulate me. The overwhelmingly positive support lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.’
Much to his relief, his fellow swim team members were supportive as well.
‘I got to practice and was instantly bombarded with questions. They wanted to know every single detail of all the text messages, tweets and reactions at school. They were so proud of me. My favorite reaction was: “Finally, I can say you’re my gay best friend.”‘
But the difficulty his mother and one of his two sisters had in accepting the news sent the swimmer into what he describes as ‘a major depression.’ His mother helped him find a therapist and after a few months, their closeness returned.
Ruisanchez, who will swim for Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania this fall, writes: ‘My life improved dramatically since the tweet. Not only did releasing my truth take a huge weight off my shoulders, but it also changed my life. My training in the pool changed in a positive way. I was no longer thinking about other things outside the pool so I could really focus on the workout.
‘I’m blessed with friends and family that support and love me unconditionally for who I am. I’m truly grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way.’
The post Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’ appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
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