Frizzy hair, oily skin and slumped posture all bring back terrible memories of puberty. While many battled sweaty palms, sophomore Vincent Rollins was forced to come to terms with a much bigger dilemma.

“Relatively around 6th grade I had the idea that I wasn’t straight. I always hung out with girls and felt more comfortable with them. When they would start talking about boys,” Rollins said, “I would get involved in the conversation too. I would give my feedback and then I got the idea ‘oh, I like boys’.”

After being raised by a conservative family, he realized the very real risk that his family would not accept him. He comes from a mixed background of Caucasian, Spaniard and Bolivian descent. His family members come from an older generation and are fairly conservative.

Not only did he fear ridicule within his own family, but he also understood that his sexuality would cause him to stand out from his peers.

Elementary school proved to be a struggle for Rollins as he was often made fun of for the way he acted.

“I just didn’t want to be gay and I wished for that every day.”

As he got older, he realized the society surrounding him began to mature along side him and noticed a higher level of tolerance in the school setting. He found friends who understood how to love him for who he was. Rollins found some comfort from his peers while attending Poe Middle school. He found that he was more easily accepted.

“I told my friends first because my family, they absolutely hate it,” Rollins said.

As he felt more at peace with himself while at school, he felt the need to discuss the subject to his family. However, it was very unlikely that the acceptance he was seeking would be found.

“I remember one time my mom asked my family what they would do if they found out I was gay and they said they would send me to a hospital to get me fixed,” he said.

Regardless of the reactions that could result, he decided it was time to be honest with his mother.

She responded fairly strongly and decided to take his phone away. As her only child, Rollins felt a sense of obligation to live up to his mother’s expectation.

“After a couple of days she came to terms with it and realize there isn’t anything else that can happen and she really accepted me,” Rollins said, “[being gay] wasn’t an option. I was born this way.”

While it has been four years since first revealing the truth to his mother, Vincent still feels the need to treat the situation with sensitivity.

“When I am with her I don’t really talk about it because I know it makes her uncomfortable. I don’t talk to her about boys because she doesn’t know what to say about it. I just talk to my friends about that kind of stuff.”

Due to the nature of his family and their intense views on homosexuality, Rollins has only come out to his mother. However, he never finds the need to change his personality or hide the way he expresses himself.

“I don’t know how they have never talked to me about it. I am the same around them, I just don’t talk about boys or any feminine things. I don’t know how they don’t know. You can just tell. I am always the same around them,” he said.

He has learned to be proud of who he is. Aside from being a cheerleader, Rollins is a confident young man who surrounds himself with supportive friends.

“In the locker room, no one cares. They are all so comfortable with me. I already told them I find them all unattractive,” Rollins said.

“We don’t mind. He is a person and he should be able to live his life the way he wants. He is a great friend. I love him just the way he is,” sophomore Schuyler McCleary, a close friends of Rollins’, said.

As a young adult who has experienced unique situations, Rollins understands the difficulty in being open with homosexuality. He used his own judgment to decide when the timing would be best for him to share his secret. He encourages others to wait for the right time as it can be a crucial moment in a teen’s life.

“If they aren’t ready to come out, don’t. You have to find people that you trust and you know for a fact that they won’t judge you and they will be there to support you.” Rollins said.

Rollins has a bright future ahead of him. His peers find his presence to be a joy and many couldn’t imagine their lives without him.

He hopes to one day become a stay at home dad and raise a family.