Quite honestly, I know very few young people well. At 54, my friends are around my age or older, some into their 70s. I have nephews and a niece from age 39 going down to college-age but they live far away and we seldom see each other. None of us have seen each other since my mother's funeral eight years ago.

From their parents' reports and their Facebook posts, I would say my nephews and niece didn't really start from scratch. What they had was an array of choices and, like me and like my brothers and sisters, made choices among them and sometimes synthesized them into something personal and unique.

My niece might be bi or lesbian or straight, I'm honestly unsure. The nephews are straight and pursuing very different life paths based on their skills, education, and opportunities. I think all of them made their choices based on the multiple systems presented. Some have been quite successful, one or two have been less capable of achieving their goals. Likely that's typical of most families, and if I can generalize, of most people their age. And those of any age - that's life.

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