Here it is. The final article of the semester and the last for my gay agenda (I think.) I never thought I would get here. Hell, for a good chunk of it I was panicked what I would even write about. As varied and strange as the trials and tribulations are of a gay man, there really isn’t that much that differs from my hetero brethren.

In reality we (that’s me speaking on behalf of an entire group of people, oh the power) are just like anyone else and the day-to-day just as mundane.

My primary goal when writing this column was to make my unique situations relatable to anyone that read them.

I wanted to tell my stories in such a way that anyone could see the commonalities of my tales as opposed to the differences.

I hope I succeeded, but other than the gents in my class, some of my family members, and random friends, I doubt anyone else read them.

While at times I like to pretend I am jaded and cynical (for reference see previous sentence) it is all an act. How I really feel (most of the time) is that we are all the same and ultimately want the same for our lives. Every human just wants to be happy and feel safe.

People can dress up what they want in life, saying it’s money or endless amounts of Twinkies, but when you boil down the words to bare bones, the message will be the same: happiness. We search for it, crave it.

One of the reasons I named this column “The Gay Agenda,” (other than it’s hilarious) is because the only agenda I have is to live a life of content.

There have been countless mouth-pieces or talking heads who ramble on and on about the “gay agenda.” They use it as a dirty phrase to drum up fear in people like we’re coming to take away people’s rights or take them as sexual hostages.

If the collective gay community had any sort of goal it is to live without fear of being harmed, or as my favorite comedian once said “ass-less wedding gowns.”

I think it’s oddly fitting that the word used for homosexuals is gay.

It was once used to mean happy. And while I do think I’m “happier” not pretending to be someone else and get to live my life without restraint, it can get very unpleasant at times.

The amount of hatred my community encounters isn’t as much as other groups, and might be experiencing less, but it’s still there in the comments section of any article or Facebook post, or in the derogatory words in a locker room.

After the election results, there was even a gay bashing in Santa Monica of all places. So the threat is real.

However, I really have lived a sheltered life, thankfully.

Most of the negativity I have encountered was always secondhand.

People have all the guts in the world to say things behind my back but never to my face.

While it sounds like I’m complaining (and I kind of am because I’d like to throw a punch in my own honor) I’m actually happy I’ve never dealt with direct discrimination.