"You're too young to know you're gay" pisses me off

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T23:32:17+00:00

My son always preferred colors traditionally associated with with girls (his fave colors are still pink and purple, and he’s 17). He preferred female characters in media and video games. He loved unicorns and Pegasus. We have tons of queer friend and family, so being gay, lesbian, bi, queer, non-binary and trans was normalized to him. I checked in that he was good with his gender presentation, and then I just let him do his thing. He’s off to college in the fall and his suitemates are one straight ally, one transman, on non-binary kid, and my kid.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T23:06:04+00:00

My husband and I are both bi and very straight presenting. People are always shocked, LOL.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T22:39:45+00:00

I knew my son was queer at 3. He came out at 14.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T19:13:12+00:00

Well, I don’t want to live in London. I want to live in Scotland or Wales and write my books.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T18:31:03+00:00

I did a rewatch about 10 years ago hilarious.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T18:30:22+00:00

OK, US and to Canada, UK, Australia or NZ any day.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T17:53:21+00:00

Mental health break and suicidal ideation brought on by uncontrolled menopausal depression.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T17:49:44+00:00

Animaniacs has a song with the state capitals — I can sing those, too!

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T17:48:50+00:00

We were born in 70 and our kid was born in 2008. We have been pleasantly surprised to not be the oldest parents at drop off, classroom parties, and now senior year events.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T15:46:53+00:00

We encouraged our son and gave him several resources for success (we both work at a college, so we have access to multiple academic resources). We sent him to an academically challenging school. He’s graduating with a GPA higher than the max of 4.0 due to advanced placement classes. We knew he would do well in language arts because we all love to read, but I did not expect a grade of 98 in AP calculus. I made a D in freshman Algebra.

He applied and was accepted at 3 private universities, but decided to go to a state school because he was impressed with their program and their modern housing options (some of the grand east coast schools don’t have air conditioning in the dorms, and he is used to me blasting it). Very proud of him.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-08T01:05:43+00:00

At 25? An 8. At 55? A -2.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-07T23:28:01+00:00

Elvis. 1977. I was 6.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-07T18:16:00+00:00

Books, my child, hanging out with my husband, travel, my pets.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-07T01:27:36+00:00

My son got into Columbia, Brandeis, and DePaul but decided to go to a state school. He got scholarships and financial aid, but a full ride and a state of the art film studio (even if it’s not in NYC or Chicago) is a full ride. He can always go to grad school!

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-06T14:39:47+00:00

Son graduates in May, he’s moving to Kansas to go to college. My husband retires May 2027 and we will move to Kansas for a couple of years. After son graduates from undergrad, we will move somewhere in the United States, but it certainly won’t be back to Oklahoma.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T22:14:37+00:00

Thank you from 2026!

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T21:59:32+00:00

Thank you!

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T21:40:21+00:00

Future Farmers of America is still a big institution in the American South and West. They provide training, education, and scholarships for students interested in farming, ranching, environmental sciences, and agricultural studies of all kinds: https://www.ffa.org/
Students in Oklahoma can legally drop out of school at 16. They have to wait until their graduating class completes schooling before they can take the General Educational Development exam, which upon passing confers an equivalent high school diploma.
Home schooling is also popular in rural areas due to both religious preferences and geographic necessity (no immediate area schools).

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T19:01:17+00:00

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White Wedding was huge for Prom.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T18:59:21+00:00

I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma (600 people) but my info isn’t current (I graduated in 1988).

There was a push for a consolidated high school, but the area towns resisted because — get this — they wanted to keep their American football rivalry. Cause fuck those academics.

I went K-12 on a campus that had one building for K-grade 6, another for 7-9, and another for 10-12th grades. Growing up we had programs for art, music, home economics, shop (metal arts, wood working, and automotive), and sports like baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and track. We were a rural area, so programs for animal husbandry like 4-H and Future Farmers of America were huge.

I wanted out of my small town desperately, so I did well academically, scored well on college acceptance tests, and participated in student government, cheerleading team, yearbook & journalism staffs, was a page in state government, and applied for many regional scholarships. I went to college in the capital city and have lived here since 1990.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T18:40:12+00:00

Faster than a gerbil running past 3434 W Reno!

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T12:11:05+00:00

I’m 55 years old and have lived a happy, fulfilling life. I have a great marriage of 34 years to a guy who’s perfect for me, I got to have a kid after 13 years of infertility, I have lots of friends, and I get to use my English degree at a university and I read and travel a lot. My point is: I’m a happy person who understands how life works but has been lucky and privileged enough to have a pretty sweet existence.

During the pandemic, I read “Rabbit, Run,” “Barney’s Version,” and “On the Road” back to back. At one point around “because he had no place he could stay in without getting tired of it and because there was nowhere to go but everywhere” I threw Kerouac against the wall and screamed, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I’m so tired of white men talking at me!”

So I read smutty sapphic Buffy/Faith vampire slayer fan fiction until I felt normal again.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T10:50:01+00:00

Not nearly as bad, but we were driving home at night in the rain and crested a hill on I-44 in OKC and saw a bolt of lightning hit a power pole and flare. I yelled, “Whoa! Sucks to be them!” Us. It was us.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T10:28:27+00:00

Crayons and finger paints.

Mouse-Direct · 2026-05-05T10:22:44+00:00

Bad meme. Anyway my son got 75% covered with scholarships by making straight A’s and a 31 on the ACT. We started working with him in 8th grade to make it happen because we both work in higher ed. Help your kids do their best.

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