But the yellow brick road was being laid out for me and when she came calling, I had to say yes. For me, a half-Japanese Californian, living in the city that never sleeps was never my dream of dreams. It was around that time when life was working her mysterious ways to open doors to New York City. I wasn’t sure where I’d find this, hell, I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for.

Less Abercrombie model at a circuit party and more Sasha Velour. It basically fit, but after ten-ish years, I wanted something that showed a little more me. For most of my life, I called myself gay, which felt like wearing a t-shirt that was one size too big. I didn’t understand what the Q in LGBTQ meant until I moved to Brooklyn. Illustration by Shutterstock and David Yi/ Very Good Light) (Is Brooklyn the gay mecca – of the world? One writer thinks so.