Thanks all for the replies, I really appreciate them. Sorry to hear about your brother dreamerhippie, and the panic attack you had at church. I still go to church myself, but really it's more to please my mom and to hide my sexuality until I'm in a position I can disclose it without fears.

@bn1, I have thought that maybe I could go back to Europe and pursue a life there, though it's just a very difficult decision to make for me. In my situation I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to leave the country, since I think my parents would have to go with me. Also, it just feels wasteful that I have an education and friends here, and that the educational standards of Europe are much MUCH higher than in the U.S., so not only assimilating into a new culture would be hard but academically I'd have a ton of catching up to do. Call me lazy if you wish, but it's just what I think right now.

@Maria, thanks for suggesting how I can help get involved with the passage of the DREAM act. I'm going to start by trying to get some of my friends to sign the petition, just have to talk to them in a comfortable way about it all first.

Either way though, I think this is a very nice community that hopefully I can be a part of.