Within my family, being gay is not accepted and after many years of them knowing about my being gay, although I've established a life on my own and learned to embrace and love the individual that I've become, recently, my mom passed away over the Christmas holidays, and although my sister whom I'm closed to had approached me with a proposal in order for me to avoid being negatively subjected by family members, unfortunately, it did not work out the way she hoped it would which led me to reconsider going to my mom's funeral. There are some members of my family who assume that I can change my sexuality if I so desire. However, as I had this conversation a couple of years ago with a sister who do not accept or acknowledge me because of my sexuality that if being gay was a choice, I would definitely not choose this lifestyle due to the fact how society treats and look upon gay people in general. Yeah, okay, times are changing to some degree, but unfortunately, they have not made the progress that is so needed for a gay person to feel accepted without adversity. But like the song says, "I Am What I Am" with no excuses and that is saying a lot in my opinion to be able to embrace and love yourself despite what some of society thinks.