But being openly gay and rooming with three straight males caused Darling to initially think that his living arrangements in Woldt Hall were bound to be problematic.

Little did he know, boundaries would soon be broken, and the socially-constructed division between their "gay" and "straight" lives would dissipate.

Darling's roommates turned out to be some of the Holt junior's best friends.

"Had I not been immediately welcomed by them, I probably would not be as comfortable (about my sexuality) as I am," Darling said.

Darling is an executive board member for CMU's Gay-Straight Alliance, and has been a member of the organization for two and a half years.

"He's very easy-going and friendly, and he's very good at listening to people's problems with an open ear," said fellow GSA member Lauren Hicks, a St. Clair Shores sophomore.

"He also utterly loves the GSA - to the point where he would do anything to help it flourish," she said.

"GSA pushed me to be out and open about my sexuality for educational purposes," Darling said. "It's nice, because it gets people actually talking about the issues instead of ignoring them."

Being one of the few "out" gay teenagers back in high school, at times Darling found himself to be the topic of conversation.

"Once a few people knew, it spread like wildfire," he said. "It was maybe a month or two and everyone knew. Even high school teachers that I never had came up to me and told me that I could talk to them," Darling said.

By the age of fifteen, his parents and his twin sister knew about Darling's sexuality.

"The first thing my dad told me was that he loved me," Darling said. "I immediately felt stupid for hiding it and for beating myself up over it for three years."

Coming out wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Darling recalled a time at church camp at the age of sixteen when a pastor tried to convince him that he had chosen to be gay.

"He used a lot of words like 'broken' and 'disgusting,' and kept telling me everything I had done wrong that 'made me gay,'" Darling said.

At this same camp, Darling was also called a "fag" for the first time.

Through his experiences, Darling has reached a place where he is proud of being an openly homosexual student on campus.

Darling realizes that the most important thing about being out is that it inevitably helps others to come out.

"I truly believe that the reason why I can be out now is because someone else did it first. I personally feel that I have a responsibility to be out, to talk about the issues when they come up, and to help others to come out too," Darling said.

Darling said the friends he made in the GSA at CMU have been an important source of support.

"Some of the people in the group are also the first LGBT friends I've ever had," Darling said. "For the first time, I didn't feel like I was an anomaly for being openly gay."

Fellow GSA member Jason Gagnon said that Darling's contributions to the GSA are immeasurable.

"I've always been amazed at Matt's compassion and his devotion to the GSA," said Gagnona, Riverdale freshman. "He's an amazing friend that I've had the pleasure of getting to know, and is always a bundle of energy."

Darling frequently receives e-mails or messages on Facebook from those who feel that because he is out, they can be out too.

"Some people will just tell me that they are gay and kind of leave it at that without expecting anything else. It's as if they need to just tell someone, anyone," Darling explains.

Darling insists that although he is glad he can assist people in the coming out process, it takes more than just one person to help someone in making this challenging decision - including straight allies.

features@cm-life.com