" The harassment I endeared caused me to become open to people of all kinds."
Hope the editor catches this and changes "endeared" to "endured" before it gets published...
I'll chime in and point out, however, that most psychologists claim that homosexuality is psychological. Most geneticists claim that it is genetic.
The overall consensus, particularly in cross-disciplinary fields, is that homosexuality is a psychological state which is influenced by genetic factors, somewhat akin to the genetic propensity some individuals have towards addiction, or alcoholism, or obesity. In all of these cases, some degree of control can be exercised, but it is much more difficult for some individuals than others.
Drawing an artificial distinction between gay people and straight people oversimplifies what is, in reality, a highly complicated issue—a moderately large minority of people feel some sort of homosexual urge at some point in their lives, and a number of individuals are attracted to both sexes (bisexuals). Moreover, there are individuals which switch sexual preferences at various points in their lives. I have known individuals who have crossed back and forth between heterosexuality and bisexuality, and between homosexuality and bisexuality. I have also known homosexuals who then became heterosexual (and obvious the reverse).
Because of this, I find it unhelpful to talk about sexual preference in terms of "you're born black, or you're born white, and that determines who you are for the rest of your life". Sexual preference doesn't work that way.