And remembering the time my late partner Lenny suggested we travel to San Francisco together from our gay Chelsea neighborhood in New York City.

He just wanted to visit friends and have a nice getaway, but to a Midwestern boy like me accustomed to routine societal homophobia, our trips to San Francisco were really helpful. I got to experience first hand that queer acceptance and affirmation were not limited to our geographically small Manhattan neighborhood.

I got to enjoy life in ANOTHER place where queer people were important, valued, and well integrated into wider society. That helped we see and understand what was truly possible.

Later, we spent time with queer friends in queer communities in the U.K. and Europe, and my sense of positivity increased even more.