Coming of Age: A Teen's Journey to Self-Discovery and First Gay Encounter Being raised in a strict Mexican Catholic family, I was raised with a lack of most of the basic sexual facts, and remember being shielded from a lot of ‘impure’ things as a youngster. I don’t remember how exactly, but somehow, sometime, I remember learning that my penis was something that was dangerous and bad. As such, even in 5th grade, I was very ignorant about things like puberty, sex, and masturbation. It being the mid-90’s and all, and coming from a poor family, we didn’t have Internet, or even a computer, so you had to find porn the old-fashioned way – through a magazine or on Cinemax late at night. Both were pretty much impossible, for me, at least, since we had one TV in the living room, and a pretty crowded house, meaning not much privacy. I hadn’t the slightest idea about how to find these materials, and in all honesty, didn’t really have the desire to do so. I was a geeky, shy and chubby kid growing up, and always found it hard to make friends. I rode the bus home, but unlike a lot of kids, I pretty much kept to myself and either read, or enjoyed the stale, but pleasant scenery jogging past my window. In point of fact, I was often teased, and usually went out of my way, straight to the back of the vehicle, to avoid other kids, ignoring calls and taunts. One day, this method failed me outright. “Hey,” said an unfamiliar voice coming from the seat directly in front of me. I kept reading my book. “Hey!” No matter how loud he yelled, I swore I wouldn’t look up from my page. “HEY!!!!!!!!” Realizing that this kid’s will outweighed mine, I relented, and my eyes met his. He leaned in close, as if he were about to spill a secret. “Do you jack-off?,” he asked in a sneaky near-whisper. I was scared for two reasons – first, I didn’t know what jacking off meant at all. I think I had heard the term before, but only from kids that I really didn’t like, and thought it must have meant something bad. Second, I thought that my answer, either way, would probably result in this kid proceeding to tell everyone my business, resulting in a lot of pointing and laughing. …and then things took a turn
