Teachers often tell their students something that would, sometimes unknowingly, impact the students greatly for years to come. I am no exception to this. It was during English class in the seventh grade when it happened and I will always remember the words my teacher spoke.

"Hey....Hey, gay boy," a boy in my class cruelly called to another. I watched the conversation quietly, managing to catch the boy being harassed lose the smile on his face. My heart ached. I knew what it was like to be bullied especially by the boy doing it.

"Hey, he's talking to you," the other boy beside him called just as cruelly as the other. The boys laughed when the boy bows his head in shame and embarrassment. I tried desperately to summon up the courage to tell the boys to stop. I open up my mouth to attempt to scold them before a voice from across the room snaps back at them first.

"So what if he's gay??" my teacher snaps at them both, her eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips. The boys stutter and finally become silent.

Unknown to my teacher, it would be these words that would help me come to terms with my own sexuality. I still carry the words in my head today. I remember them whenever I'm confronted about my own sexuality. These words give me hope and helps me carry on with my day. I am grateful to my seventh grade English teacher because she was the person who helped me accept myself.