Kent was 19 when he fled his home. All he left his parents was a note explaining why he’s gone: They wouldn’t accept him because he’s gay. He also posted a photo of the letter on Twitter where people reacted with messages of support and sympathy to his situation.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
“There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t cried or struggled to find the energy to get out of bed,” he opened. “This doesn’t feel like a home and I don’t think it ever will. You have accused me of being a bad person, of being an embarrassment, and telling me I have a psychological disorder. I don’t think you guys will ever understand what it’s like to hear that from your own parents and how harmful and damaging it is to a child.”
After listing other efforts his parents made to “cure” him of homosexuality, he patiently explained where his parents had gone wrong by not respecting his journey to self-discovery and peace with his sexuality.
“The other day you asked me what parents were for,” he wrote. “Parents are supposed to love and accept their children unconditionally. It took me a lifetime to get to a point where I’m happy and secure with who I am and it breaks my hear that the two people that have supported me my entire life do not accept me when I’m finally happy with who I am. It pains me that you both can’t put aside your personal opinions and views and just love and accept me for who I am.”
He goes on to list statistics about queer teens who attempt suicide, noting that the lack of parental support increases the odds dramatically. “I’m leaving because I refuse to become another statistic,” he says.
He closed by telling his parents not to bother contacting him unless they decided to accept him for who he is. In a later tweet, he revealed that they hadn’t contacted him since he left.
here’s the letter I left to my parents before moving out in english and spanish, I’m never changing who I am Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.pic.twitter.com/V2qjdLQ1qW
— Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
He is currently staying with a friend and wanted to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t looking for attention when he posted his letter.
“I’m not sharing this for pity or for attention but because I know there are people out there just like me who are scared and stuck in abusive homes and I want to be an example that you’re never stuck and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” he tweeted after his missive started going viral.
