Nearly 20 years after graduating, a hometown visit reveals just how far gay rights have come in a relatively short time.

I recently returned to Howard County to speak to the Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays chapter there. It was a surreal night, returning to my childhood neighborhood where I long ago grappled with my sexual orientation and fended off bullies as a kid. If someone had told me 20 years ago that I'd be back to deliver a speech on gay rights, I wouldn't have believed it. There was an element of triumph to the evening, but my nerves were fried just the same.

What would I say to a high school student now attending my alma mater? Would they view me as old and irrelevant? Or a loser for spending those early years in the closet?

I met a group of county students, several of whom serve as president of their GSAs. It's difficult to convey how much has changed in 20 years without sounding like a geezer, but I wanted them to understand that the gay rights movement is progressing at a uniquely fast pace and that they shouldn't take for granted the freedoms they have that my generation did not.