By Nicky, former Peer Educator with YouthResource.

My name is Nickolas, but most people know me as Nicky. Currently I am stationed in New York City, trying to live out a lifetime's worth of dreams and aspirations. I was raised in a liberal Catholic home by parents of Cuban and Black decent.

I came out at the age of 16 as gay and like many gay kids, I thought that coming out would be the end of my feelings of being an "oddity" and that wasn't altogether true. It has always been natural for me to step outside of what is considered "normal" and mainstream, and in this, I believe, that I have allowed myself to become influenced and enlightened about a lot of things that are outside of my personal reach.

In high school I expressed a lot of my individuality and creativity in the way I dressed—bouncing freely from "label to label," sometimes featuring urban inspired looks, and more often times, living for glam gear and runway inspired personal creations. I've always loved the idea of becoming the "image of your own imagination," and this certainly still makes play in my life today.

Everything I try to do in life is a reflection of my art and my creativity. Over time, I have focused my art into many different paths—some traditional, while other more current art forms are making social and cultural statements. Currently, I am living out my dream as a performer in two media: as lead vocals in the two-person "musical force" known as Broken Cases, and as a performance artist in NYC's downtown scene. I like the political action of my art form—because I am a person who believes in breaking down racial barriers as well as gender lines.

If I had one thing to say to everyone in the world, it would be: "Stay strong and triumph over your obstacles, because in the end you will be so much stronger, wiser, happier, and more beautiful for being able to stand up, face it, and survive it all."