The Way It Should Be Said.

Allow me to Re-introduce myself.

The name is Carl. Or CJ. Or just 'J'. Actually, I don't care what you call me. A little about myself: Born and raised in Jersey. Moved to Baltimore for college. Live in Philly for work. Every now and again spend some time in NYC. Yeah, I get around. I'm black. and, I'm gay. I've come across a lot of blogs (video and text format) over the past few years of social networking that have been about gay life/lifestyle, and I've only enjoyed a handful of them. Some spend too much time worrying about overcoming gay "stereotypes", don't worry I won't do that. Some spend too much time fighting imaginary wars for gay rights, don't worry I won't do that. And some...don't talk about gay issues at all, there's just gay people writing them... and I damn sure am not about to do that...

I don't knock anyone else that writes a gay blog or has a gay social network presence. I think they're all great, and all serve their purpose. I'm just here to be real. Through my own experiences and experiences of my friends I hope to give a voice to our community that is not often heard. The voice of the average, everyday gay young adult just trying to find my way in the world. I go through shit, some of it bad and some of it good. What I'm NOT here to do is highlight the wonders of gay life, I'll leave that for other people. I'm pretty much just gonna tell my story and the story of those around me. On ocassion, I'll get up on my high horse. and hey, you might even catch me on a soapbox....

I'm sorry if i'm talkin shit, but I swear I mean well. We, the LGBT community of color have a long, long way to go. I'll deliver this blog the way it should be: Unapologetic, not always classy, but always real. And whether 1 person or 1000 people read this, I hope it helps someone along the way...even if that person is just me. :)

Let's raise a glass to 4 The Kids, The Way it Should Be Said.

-@CJ4TheKids