I turned the corner of the house and witnessed a nightmare.
My brother stumbled down the hill as a bus full of children screamed insults and threw trash out the window towards him. It was not just one or two bullies, but a busload. I thought, "Why doesn't the bus driver do something?"
I decided to take action myself and told my mother; he never had to ride the bus after that. But was that really the solution? Who knows the horrors he went through in the hallways of his school. My brother was picked on his whole life. He never fit in with the crowd, and others gained joy by his reactions to their abuse. My family didn't speak of the incident because, well, who wants to admit that he or she is being bullied? Today I am admitting it.
Bullies sensed that insecurity in me. Growing up in Tennessee was not easy for me. People at my school and church loved to feel superior by knocking me down. Being gay, adopted, skinny, nerdy and even left-handed made me an easy target. After a long day of being pushed into lockers and smacked in the head from the game "smear the queer," I returned to the safety of my home and paid it forward on my younger brother.
"Jerry the fairy" at least had peace in my room but my brother didn't. I felt horrible after that day on the hill for making fun of him growing up. I vowed to change.
Things did get better. I left for college in Kentucky and hardly looked back. Finally there was a place where I could be different and for once that was a good thing. I learned how to live away from home and make my own life. Afterwards, I moved up north to Chicago where I could be accepted for the person I wanted to be. It was tough for me to finally come out to my family but through time things got better. I started working for a LGBT publication where I interview celebrities, authors such as Dan Savage.
While preparing for the interview I was touched by his book and wondered, "Is it too late to have my take own It Gets Better moment?" The answer is no. We all have more stories to tell and hopefully this one helps one more person.
Recently, a policewoman looked at my license and said, "Weren't you made fun of with that last name?" I stated, "Yes, although now I have a website NunnontheRun.com where I celebrate it but thanks for reminding me."
Being syndicated nationally and having continued growing success has brought students writing to me and saying they are studying journalism to be like me. This is really the ultimate compliment. But I implore them, follow my footsteps and become whatever you want to be but don't step on people to get there. Life will get better and it's never too late to start.
Jerry Nunn has written for Windy City Times and Nightspots Magazine for more than six years. His writings have appeared in publications such as ChicagoPride, Frontiers, The Edge, Gozamos, Next, Basil, Out & About, Seattle Lesbian, Huffington Post and Access Hollywood.
