Even though in Highschool I was a star pupil and class president, but when my family found out I was gay, they would not accept me. So I tried to become the person that I thought others wanted me to be. But the fear, anger and secrets festered in me.

 

I began to rebel, turning to drugs and alcohol. I withdrew from family and friends. One month before high school graduation, I left home and dropped out of school. Homeless, penniless, and alone, I sought out relationships with older men I knew could support me and my growing substance abuse issues.

 

Then I met a man on a dating app and everything changed. 

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He told me about the amazing, glamorous life that he lived – traveling the world, attending high-profile gay events and exclusive clubs.

 

He was charming and I believed I could trust him. He seemed to have the solution to my problems. He would teach me how to do massage therapy and I could live the glamorous and exciting life he offered.

 

The other men who travelled with him were not massage therapists, but escorts. They convinced me I could make much more money as an escort too. I thought I was in control, that I was making these decisions. Instead, I was being used for my trafficker’s profit.

 

Eventually, I had a breakdown and became homeless. A stranger found me beaten up and took me to the hospital where I was given an opportunity to go to rehab. This was the beginning of the road to my recovery.

 

I have recently celebrated three years of sobriety. I am so proud of my recovery. I no longer live in my trauma, but in my strength. I fell in love and have built a life with an amazing, loving partner. I also went back to school and became a certified massage therapist.