I continue to read lots of stuff about how some people still think that being gay (or questioning if one is gay) is a choice. Many of these stories focus on teens who are coming to terms with their sexual identity and sexual orientation.

I am no teen. I know I am gay. So what are my choices as a gay man?

Off the top of my head as whimsical as it is to write what comes first-to-mind, here are my choices:

Author: James Michner.
Community: One with a casual and mature kind of tolerance.
Device: light switch.
Earworm: Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’ from the musical, “Oklahoma!”
Foods: that which do not aggravate my chronic intestinal condition.
Gift: time with my spouse, family, and close friends.
Hymn: In the Garden
Ice cream: cherry vanilla.
Jeans: Wranglers
Koalas: I love koalas.
Leatherwear: leather jeans and vest
Motorcycle: Harley-Davidson.
Note: middle “C” (because I can always find it.)
Ocean: Atlantic (fewer tsunamis and warmer at the sea shore)
Price: free.
Quote: “Share your smile with a stranger; it may be the only sunshine he sees today”
Route: one where I do not get lost.
Song: You Are My Sunshine
Tasks: taking my senior pals grocery shopping and doing home repairs for them.
Ululation: I don’t really have a choice for a ululation. I just like the alliterative sound of the word.
Vacation spot: Australia.
Washington, DC: the most powerful city on the planet.
Xanthophyll: I love its brilliance in deciduous trees in autumn.
Youngsters: my nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews.
Zoo: Melbourne Zoo, Australia.

Hmmm, in reviewing the above list, it does not appear that I choose to be gay. Hmmmm… I guess I was born that way.

Saying that being gay “is a lifestyle” implies that one can choose to be gay or not, and therefore choose to live a “gay lifestyle.” Sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn’t true, either. Read this previous blog post about the distinction between a lifestyle and being gay.

I could prattle on, but you get the gist — one does not choose to “be” gay or “live as gay” (as in “the lifestyle.”) You are or you aren’t.

Life is short: I am gay. So what?