Just A Little Something

On a lovely Friday evening, a little sophomore boy in high school sat alone away from home, lonely and depressed. He picked up his phone and froze for a second before dialing the number to his house. His anxiety made his knees buckle — his body trembled

The phone rang three times and as soon as his mother picked up, he confessed that he had slept with other men his age — that he was absolutely sure he was a homosexual. He broke down- waterworks and all. "You will be normal soon", replied his mother.

The boy came home the next day because he was scared his mother would still be mad. Surprisingly, his mother was not mad, and that day, came home with a large, unlabeled bucket. Inside this bucket, the little sophomore boy saw a mixture of dried and ground herbs. "What could these herbs be?" the boy wondered. That night, his mother brewed him tea from the awfully pungent herbs and forced the medicine down his mouth. The boy went to sleep with a queasy stomach, feeling like he had a few too many shots of whiskey on an empty stomach.

The boy asked his mother what the herbs and tea were. His mom replied that it was a mixture of "Na-sa-ma", a traditional Chinese herb. "It will make you a healthy, strong, boy," she said.

After a few days and a Google searches later, the boy found out that Na-sa-ma, the special herb, was used to cure the disease of homosexuality in ancient times. While he still felt the sticky substance from the tea in his mouth, he felt a feeling of fear of his future. He felt betrayed and looked for somewhere to hide.

This little sophomore boy found little support at the time. He turned to the ever so popular Queer as Folk for comfort. His eyes were opened to a world where sexuality is flaunted without regard to civil decency and sex displayed like sweaters on a clearance rack.

Why was it that the boy had no one and nothing to turn to except for an obnoxious, stereotypical, and irresponsible representation of gay culture? Why did he learn that random sex was somehow fully accepted and expected of him?

After some many slips and falls, the little boy grew to learn that Queer as Folk was not the only world he could live in without being afraid. He could live his life as himself without the obscene amounts of sex and drugs — most importantly, he learned that he did not have to follow the path of a hollowed-out shell of a gay television character.

And what about those herbs? To this very day, he can still taste the repulsive stench of the tea in the back of his throat. However, the other sticky things that poke and prod the back of his throat help him cope. Clearly, Na-sa-ma had little effect on him.

Albert Yan, is a New Jersey native and is a student in the Washington Metropolitan area. He is a freelance violinist and performs on a regular basis all over the east coast. Fluent in Chinese, German, and English, Albert has taught both languages and music in Austria and Germany. He is also an avid runner and kayaker. (He is also taking applications for dates and a boyfriend).