Friday September 19th Sascha lay on his bed in his room. He felt abandoned and hurt. Why was he having this problem with his mother? Had he changed so much in his new understanding of himself? He thought he was the same young man as he had always been. But his relationship to his mother bothered him. The more he thought about it, the more hurt he became. His mother was in denial, and his father, though not saying anything negative, failed to support Sascha or to help explain his sexuality to his mother. He grabbed his old teddy bear that lay underneath his bed. Whenever he was depressed, he would pick up that old plush toy for consolation. Sascha whispered to his stuffed friend, "Why does our society have such problems accepting gay men? We are like everyone else except for our desire to love men. What's so wrong with that?" Sascha turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. Why do people hate gays so? Why can't gay men marry each other in the same way heterosexuals marry?" What pained Sascha the most was the intolerance of many people. Sascha could not understand why some people wanted to prescribe how he should live. "It's my business alone how I want to live my life," Sascha thought. He pressed his teddy bear to his chest. "At least you accept me as I am," said Sascha as he looked deeply into the brown glass eyes of the bear.