I am Rochelle L. Johnson, born October 29th  to loving parents and a family which has supported me throughout. At age 5 I had a crush on a camp counselor which progressed until I was age 11. I then began to date boys, thinking that was what was expected of me until I met an Italian woman, age 22, when I was 15. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and although I never thought I was gay, lesbian or anything 'unnatural', I found the courage to approach her and we had become intimate.  I chalked it up as an experience and continued to date boys. Then I became uncomfortable with being intimate with  males, sought counsel from my friend and tried to come to terms with my new found feelings. I spoke with God, prayed to have these feelings of guilt and shame removed and kept this to myself until I came out to friends in high school but the real challenge was to my family. I figured if my mother and father accept me then no one else mattered. I remember starting off as if I was in an AA meeting saying, 'My name is Rochelle and I'm gay'. My Mom said, 'Well, that's fine with me. I love you and you are still my daughter. However, everyone will not be as accepting so I want you to be careful and not to flaunt this in public'.  On a separate occasion,  my Dad said, 'Chelle, are you dating girls?' I said, 'Yes, Dad'. He said, 'Well, that's cool'. And we laughed and hugged and…I love my family and they love me.