In our fear of losing one another, we’ve stopped creating safe spaces to check in on each other. As black gay men, our mental health is compromised when we feel we can’t reach out to one another. Let’s break that pattern. Talk to me. — I had all of my friends in a tizzy when I got cuffed by my boyfriend less than a week after we had met. Before then I had introduced them to another guy who had ghosted me and was in a tizzy of situationships in the weeks before that one.

A few months ago I thought that the solution to all my problems was to completely take myself out of the picture. I’m better now and here’s how I did it. — When I left New York, it wasn’t just because I wanted to buy property in Atlanta like I told everyone. I was about 118 pounds. I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t showering. I was barely sleeping or I was sleeping all day. When I was awake I would listen to the…

I’ve had some bad friends in my life but there’s nothing worse than a friendship built on trauma. — I’ve had anxiety for as long as I can remember. I would get asked all the time as a kid why I was so quiet. It wasn’t because I was shy and it wasn’t because I was a nerd (which I proudly was). I didn’t know how to put a…

We may never understand the reasons our parents do the things they do but we can learn to heal from the pain they caused, take accountability for our actions and move on when moving on becomes our only option. — The only memory that I have of my dad is the one time I thought he had actually changed. He called me up, he asked me if I wanted to go see a movie. He picked me up and I think we went to go see Baywatch. When he dropped…

I never knew romance until I went to Paris. I’ve been romantic, sure, but I’ve never felt that rush of curiosity, that lust that comes with acceptance of yourself, the acceptance of another person and the tingle up and down your spine that comes with the joy of giving yourself to someone else. I only wish the drugs didn’t get in the way. — If I’m being honest, I wish I could have done more, I wish that I was experienced enough to give myself to that person completely. But I wasn’t. I didn’t have half the confidence I do now. So I sought confidence from somewhere else. …

So, let me tell you a story about how I almost got arrested in Mexico. I’d never been in charge of the gworls before and after this night, I may never be in charge of the gworls again. — The boys and I were celebrating a friends birthday in Cancun aka red flag number 1. The liquor was flowing, the vibes were vibin’ and I was looking like a bad b*tch (I have the instagram photos to prove it so follow me on instagram). All we wanted was to…

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” — Hunter S. Thompson — When I was little boy my dream was to be an eye doctor on a motorcycle and I was dead serious. I was eight at the time and I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that. I was definitely smart enough. It wasn’t until my mom stood…

In a world of instant gratification, people forget that things just take time. Life throws us negative energy that is determined to block our paths. Little by little, we have to make efforts to move forward because being your best self doesn’t happen over night. — I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. I was a product of a teen pregnancy that could have gone very wrong if I didn’t have the amazing mother that I have. My father went to prison when I was in middle school, but he wasn’t around much anyway. I wasn’t the…