Billy Eichner

And I had never heard her say that before.

And that stuck with me.

I felt bad for her.

I didn't feel bad for myself.

I was always so loved and protected.

Even when she was on pills, it's like none of the antagonism she would direct on others when she was in that mode was ever directed at me.

I guess even in that state, I was still like...

the center of her universe, you know?

Like, I was always so loved and protected.

But I, loving my mother, and we were so, you know, a gay son and his mother, they're going to be very close.

And most of the times, things were phenomenal.

I mean, I had this, like, dreamy childhood, you know?

But it was punctuated by moments like that.

And I just felt bad for her because I was a kid and I didn't quite know

what to do about that.

But I knew something needed to happen.

She was in more pain than she was willing to admit emotionally, which is why 10 years later I get to college and I come home and I try to convince her, I'm desperate to convince her to see a therapist.

We didn't talk about mental health as much in those days.

And my mother and a lot of people in that time thought only crazy people go to therapy.

And luckily that's really changed an enormous amount.