Exactly one decade ago, on June 2, 2000, President Bill Clinton proclaimed June to be Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in the United States. Last year, President Obama updated the recognized month to include bisexual and transgendered Americans. Serendipitously enough, today also marks the latest installment of Coming Out: Stories of Gay Identity, a series we are running throughout the month of June in partnership with the Young Leaders Council of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

Indie filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell provides the latest addition to the Coming Out series, offering up a moving tale of an awkward motel meet-up and an uncomfortable run-in with an old high school drama teacher that helped him to find his place in the world as a gay man. Mitchell is joined in the series by author Augusten Burroughs, actor Stephen Fry and gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who each offer their own take on both the gut-wrenchingly difficult and surprisingly easy aspects of owning their sexuality.