A Story from Years Ago

I remember years ago and School and how it was not so great for me but there are several times that stand out more than anyone will ever know.
One of the worst and most painful times for me was in Grade eight or nine gym class I believe it was. Please don't quote me on the grade, I am getting older you know.
We were outside for Physed class and playing tag team football.
For me , let me just make this perfectly clear being a young gay person in a small twon and also being a scronny little man , I was never comfortable with gym class and let me make this clear, I never showered nor did I ever change at school, if it was a gym day that's what I wore to school or I would skip that class.
Anyhow, back to the tag team football, I participated this day and was so not happy to have to play a touch sport with my fellow male classmates though I did try.
We were playing football and I remember trying to tag a class mate Brad Urichuck and I guess I missed the tag and slapped his back or ass or something and all of a sudden you would have sworn I had committed a murder, Brad and Jeff Simpson were yelling at me and calling me a fag and a girl and saying I only slap cause I am gay, this went on for a few minutes.
I eventually left that day while still in gym class and just went home. what was I suppose to do, I have all these boys who I thought we my friends calling me fairy, fag, gay, hell I didn't even know what those words were.
I just went home and hid in my bedroom and cried for hours. I don't think I was ever so sad or scared in my life and I just hated myself instead of being ashamed of them for meaking fun of me for trying and for doing my best, I was ashamed of me. Well that doesn't happen anymore!
It was one of the last gym classes I ever attended as I got mom to come to the doctor with me and he wrote some sort of  note to get me out until the end of the year.
Boys were so mean to me and so were some girls, I have forgiven but never forgotten the bullying I lived with and am sure I never will. People need to learn the most hurtful things in life are mean words and things we say.
I never went to back to school after the first semester of grade ten and got my high school diploma through correspondence courses and exams and GED exams , but I did it without all the  ridicule and name calling that I tolerated for years.