My name is De’Vannon Seráphino and I’m from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Discovering my sexuality while growing up as a Christian in the South wasn’t easy, but I didn’t get into any real trouble until my own church told me I wasn’t welcome in God’s house, in my twenties. Dejected, I spiraled into drug addiction and crime, and my drug of choice was crystal meth. After years of living life to the extreme with the craziest drugs and wildest sex I could imagine, my HIV+ diagnosis only told me one thing: Go out with a bang because your life is almost over.

Today, my life is a very different story and much has changed. I’m not homeless, I don’t think my life is ending any time soon, and I have an evolving perspective of what it means to live a balanced and spiritual life. I make it a point to have people in my life who many would say live on the “social outskirts” and who embrace ideas and practices society believes to be “taboo” because these are my people and we have so much in common. I have a dirty, sexual, VERY open mind and yet maintain a strong connection with Jesus Christ. I feel called to tell my story and connect with others to help them find a greater understanding of themselves and a path to spirituality as well.