I love hockey. I’m so grateful that I get to do this for a living. But I also know what it feels like to not fit in. When I was a teenager, I realized that I may be that thing that hockey players like to throw around as an insult. The kind of language that I heard on the ice and in the locker room every day was a constant reminder that I was different. When you have a secret that you work as hard as I did to protect, it’s exhausting. It’s a nonstop effort. And it’s also really, really lonely. Thankfully, I found the person who changes everything. And he gave me the confidence and strength and the need to be honest about who I am. Fear is a powerful thing. But then, I found the one thing that is more powerful.
