However, the following week at Yom Kippur dinner, I spotted Lynn without Tony by her side. When I asked my parents what had happened to Terrific Tony, they replied that Lynn’s parents, my aunt and uncle, had forced her to break up with him because he wasn’t Jewish.

You’d think that in this day and age, people should be able to date those of different races, religions and backgrounds freely. So when I heard the news that Lynn had been forced to break up with Tony, I was truly shocked and appalled.

Fast forward a few years, to this past winter break, in fact. On New Year’s Eve a few of my friends and I went out to Boystown in Chicago, aka Land of the Chicago Gay Men. We hit up my favorite bar and proceeded to mingle with all of the beautiful, well-dressed males. Soon enough, I managed to find my type of guy, so I walked over to him. We started talking and I learned that he was Puerto Rican, and that he worked in Chicago as an attorney. We hit it off and by the end of the night, I had decided that Mr. Puerto Rican Attorney was definitely one of my best finds.

A few days later I made the mistake of mentioning him to my parents. I don’t understand why I continue to tell my parents about my love life, so I’m making a mental note not to do this anymore from here on. (And a few words of wisdom to you all: do not inform your parents of your own hookups or romantic life, unless of course it is very serious. Mine is not.) Upon mentioning this guy to my parents, my mom asked me, “Willie, why can’t you just find a nice Jewish boy?”

In response, I said, “Mom, if you can find a nice, attractive, normal gay Jewish boy for me, please let me know, because I have not yet found one.”

I then mentioned to my dad that he had married my mother, a Roman Catholic, when he was Jewish, so why was my case any different? Besides, I had explained to them that this attorney guy was just a little fling at a bar and nothing very serious.

My parents then retracted their remarks about wanting me to find a Jewish boy and told me that while they would certainly prefer it for my own sake, any guy who made me happy would make them happy. They explained that it’s just more difficult for two people from different upbringings and backgrounds to make love work. Though I agree with this notion, there’s also that little old saying that opposites attract.

If you like someone, go for it. It truly does not matter how different that person may seem to be, for if love is in the cards, you two will make it work. While my parents have reason to believe that romantic relationships often work out better when two people are from similar backgrounds, nobody ever said love was easy. That’s because it’s not.

So while I will still keep my eye out for that cute gay Jewish boy, I’m certainly not going to close myself off to other options out there in my future.