Letters to the Editor: I was a gay student in Glendale. Feeling invisible drove me to addiction

To the editor: From 2002-10, I was a student in the Glendale Unified School District, now one of the biggest targets of groups that oppose teaching LGBTQ+ themes in the classroom.

As a gay immigrant, I never saw myself represented in the curriculum. I felt invisible. All I wanted was a sense of belonging with people who loved and accepted me for who I was.

I knew that was impossible in Glendale Unified. I had friends, but I felt like I couldn’t share any of my internal struggles with them; most of whom were raised in conservative Christian Armenian households. I knew they wouldn’t fully understand my pain, and how could they? Everything we learned in school validated their lived experiences and neglected mine.

I ended up attending USC. At 22, I found a group of men who accepted and loved me for who I was. One day, one of these men offered me drugs. I was desperate for his acceptance, so I made the mistake of saying yes. And my life spiraled out of control.

Luckily, I managed to get a job at Disney as a software engineer despite my addiction. The company took steps to save my life. All of this could have been avoided if I felt represented and visible growing up.

Of course, anyone who sexualizes children should be dealt with properly. But the whole point of teaching the contribution of diverse groups to this state, including LGBTQ+ people, is for students like me not to feel alone and invisible in the world. We deserve to feel like we belong here just as much as anyone else.

Taron Sargsyan, Glendale