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Vila Health: Health Challenges in Different Populations

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I got into a fight in the bathroom with Bob Heaney, Justin Collins, and Brad Kelzer. There were three of them but I held my own. They’re not going to mess with me anymore.

They were giving me crap for using the boy’s bathroom. But that’s who I am, and I’m tired of pretending and hiding it. I usually try not to go into the bathroom unless I know nobody’s in there, just to avoid trouble, but I went in today and Heaney and those guys were in there. They just started in on me, calling me freak, asking me to show them how I was going to use the urinal. I told them to knock it off and they didn’t, and then we started pushing. I don’t

remember who threw the first punch.

This is the first time I’ve had to fight, but stuff’s been really hard and weird all year. I decided this year I was going to stop hiding and start living as the person I really am. But I didn’t know it’d be so hard. I don’t do much now, and my grades are in the toilet.

The biggest thing is that I feel so alone. There's nobody in town who's going through what I'm going through. I have all these questions and I never know where to take them. My mom and dad try to help, but there's so much they don't understand. I came home from school last week just crying my head off because Mr. Rossum, my science teacher, kept using my old name even when I kept saying to him "I'm not Kathy anymore, I'm Kevin." My mom, she mostly doesn't want to rock the boat, so she asked me if I couldn't just be understanding that Mr. Rossum's from another generation and just doesn't get it. Her saying that just made me feel terrible because she wants to be understanding to this mean old guy but not to me.

I don’t know, maybe they’re all right and I’m just a freak. I mean, they can’t all be wrong.

Kevin Millard Rural LGBTQ Teen

Kevin Millard, 17, came into the clinic with minor injuries after a fight at school.

Now that you've read Kevin's story, you may have some thoughts.

 Do you think Kevin's issue is one you would be interested in investigating further for this course? Think about what other considerations you would have to keep in mind if you were trying to help other LGBTQ youth in rural areas.

Enter your answer here…

Submit your Answers 

INTRO CARL ALOMAR DELIA JENSEN CONCLUSIONKEVIN MILLARD