Over the course of everyone’s life, we come cross songs, movies, poems, etc that have a seminal impact on shaping who we eventually become.

Now, I’m not saying I have already “become”; this is by no means a completed thing. It will probably always be a work in progress for me. However, I am happy and at peace with who I am. A big reason for that is John Cameron Mitchell’s film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and the heart-achingly beautiful song “The Origin of Love.” I only vaguely understood the film when I first watched it, but it left an indelible mark on me.

I’d always known I was “different.” Growing up, I’d never once had a crush on a boy band or whoever the hottest hunks were at the time. Instead, my idols had always been women. At first, I thought it was because I wanted to grow up like them. When I grew older I realized that, of course, it was because I’m gay.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” made me realize that the world is vast, and there are all kinds of people in it. That I didn’t have to conform/force myself to be like everybody else. It also made me understand that the best life is life lived authentically. And that, really, we are all the same underneath our differences. We’re all just looking for the other half of ourselves that are drifting out there somewhere. At the core of it all, we are looking for love.

Anyway, all of this long exposition is to say that I went to Topic Talks event on Saturday, which was a wonderful evening of storytelling and music that featured John Cameron Mitchell. He performed a couple of songs from his new project, a podcat called “Anthem: Homunculus.” I sat in the auditorium with my girlfriend, and all of a sudden I was inundated with nostalgia and pride.

I was confused and ashamed of who I was when I first watched “Hedwig” all those years ago, but not anymore. I know who I am. I’m proud of who I’m becoming. And I will never live my life pretending to be who I am not.