In the October 2010 edition of GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine, we interviewed a young man by the name of Colin Walmsley.  A resident of the small Alberta town of Fort Macleod, Walmsley earned the honour of being Valedictorian for his class, and he used this opportunity to come out of the closet to friends and classmates.  The following is a transcript of his speech.

I could talk about the past up here today, but I’m sure it’ll be a big enough bawlfest as it is without bringing up old memories. I could talk about the people in our class who have become larger-than-life and the legendary pranks and stories that go along with them, but that would be too easy, and I’m sure you’ve heard them all anyway. So I’ll talk about the future, even though it scares the hell out of me.

Grad Class of 2010: I’m talking to you. Most of us have been together since Kindergarten, with a few notable exceptions. We’ve been through highs and lows, ups and downs, and now we’re finally breaking apart and going our own ways. I would say it all went by so fast, but it didn’t. It took friggin’ forever, didn’t it? The good thing about living in a small town like Fort Mac is that we’ve all grown so close to each other. Everyone knows everyone, and that creates a sense of community that you won’t find in a big city. However, this type of atmosphere can also create a feeling that we’re almost living in a colony shut off from the rest of the world. We become sheltered and isolated, overly comfortable with our small group of peers, and maybe afraid to take chances. Now is the time to strike against this culture of safety! Take chances, goof off, have fun! Set the course of your life in the direction you want it while you still can! Although this day is a huge milestone, this next year will be the tipping point that determines your future. Whatever you do, don’t end up doing what you hate based on someone else’s expectations. Success isn’t making money or being famous or powerful. Success is being happy. And if you’re happy being a bum, then I urge you to become a bum. Also, Fort Macleod isn’t everything. There are opportunities all over the world if we are brave enough to take a chance, to venture a little out of our comfort zone. The only limits are the ones we set ourselves.

Now, on a more personal note, I would like to take this time to tell you all something that I have only told my family and a few close friends… I am gay. This makes me different in conservative Southern Alberta, something foreign. Often, people are afraid of what’s different, afraid of anything that unbalances the status quo, afraid of change, and this can make otherwise normal people intolerant and unaccommodating. I know that there are closed-minded individuals in the world, even in this very audience, who believe that homosexuality is a choice. I bet that none of these people have ever actually talked to a gay person. Homosexuality is not a choice. Why the hell would anyone choose to be ostracized like society does to gays today? Who wants to be forced to deny who they are for years while they summon the courage to shatter the cage society has locked them in? Nobody wants to be different, to be outcast, to be talked about, which is why I put this off, made excuses, and was afraid to be myself. I am gay just like my skin is white and my hair is brown. I am not proud to be gay. I am not ashamed to be gay. It is simply a part of me, and always has been. My sexual orientation does not make me any less kind, any less generous, or any less caring, and I ask you to judge people on the qualities they can control, rather than the ones they cannot. The world is changing into a more open and accepting place, a better place, and Fort Macleod is a step and a half behind. Embrace change, see what’s right, and challenge long-held beliefs, and I am certain that the world will become a better place for everyone. You know, I read the Letters to the Editor that say gays are sinners who are going to Hell, and I want to strangle these people, to yell at them to wake up to the real world and not be so arrogant to think that their way is the only way, that they’re right and everyone else is wrong. These people are the true cancers of society. I hope that today I have struck a blow against their war of hatred. As for me, I’ve decided that I’ve been smothered by my fear of your beliefs for too long, and society will hold me prisoner no more. I hope that you have the dignity to respect me as the person I am and always have been. No matter how hard we try to deny it, our spirits can be broken if we let them. My spirit will not be broken. Thank you.