As this semester comes to an end, I sadly have to say goodbye to many of my senior friends. This is a rather bittersweet moment as I am so happy and beyond proud of their achievements in their time at Fredonia but I am also so sad to have to see them go.
One of my dearest friends that I have made in my time here is Dean Bouziotis, who I like to call Fallon’s boyfriend. He really has been such an avid supporter of my drag career when I first started in my freshman year here.
At first I must admit that I did have an actual crush on him, but it was more so at a point where I just could not distinguish the difference of wanting to be with someone romantically to wanting to truly build a friendship with another person. This has happened many times with my time here, which has often made me question my sexuality a numerous account of times.
Anyways, back to Dean. After my first premiere of Fallon Angel at the Fredonia Pride Competition (which I won and remain the reigning Queen), my next opportunity to showcase Fallon was at the Black Student Union Spring Fashion Show.
I was told by many people that this was something that I should do and I figured why not? Coming to the meetings in rehearsals was often quite discouraging, as I still felt very out of place as everyone seemed to have set groups of friends and I was the odd one out.
It was difficult for me to really feel comfortable in my own skin, there appeared to be an established group of favorites and people who would for sure be chosen for specific runways by specific designers.
Now, I felt as if I did not belong. I was not chosen for many of the designer runways and a lot of the more DIY categories did not seem to fit me. Yet, there was one that I really wanted to do, “Date Night.”
We had the option to sign up without a partner, but that let it be up to the eboard members to randomly pair me up with someone… and I did NOT want to be hate-crimed. I wanted to sign up for it, but what man would want to walk down the runway with me? A random gay freshman who liked to play around with wigs and makeup.
That is, until I saw Dean.
Dean was someone who I have heard of before on campus and I did see him on a few dating sites, so I knew which team he was playing for and really wanted to connect with him. So I then mustered up the courage to approach him and I asked him if he would do the runway with me. He said yes.
Our friendship at first was a bit awkward to say the least. We got along fine, but I was just still way too shy to make any actual moves (that is, in terms of friendship). We would say hi to each other and sometimes hold little conversations but that was really it.
The day of the fashion show came and we walked the runway together in the last scene of “Date Night.” I must say, that we were definitely a crowd favorite. And that is how our friendship began.
Sophomore year came around and we got a little bit closer, we hung out a couple of times and we would text more often and then the pandemic hit and we were all sent home from school. Soooo we did not have much time to hang out in person. However, I felt that this break from school and being in-person helped our friendship grow immensely.
Communication with me and boys has always been a struggle for me, even in the platonic sense. I tend to get flustered and too embarrassed to say what I want. So texting and snapchatting was definitely a platform that I thrived more with and I started reaching out to Dean more often.
Now it’s his senior year and I am in my Junior year and I will be having to say goodbye to him pretty soon. I don’t think that I am actually ready to do so but I have to come to terms with this parting. I know it won’t be forever, but I will miss him next year.
So here’s to Dean, I can’t believe that I am actually writing a blog post about him but here I am! Being all sappy and queer. But that’s just true to my character. Thank you Dean for always supporting me endlessly and always being there for me whenever I needed someone. You have been Fallon’s biggest supported here at Fredonia since day 1!
You were my first actual gay friend who I built such a strong relationship with. I will miss you so much but I can’t wait to see how you’ll thrive once you’re out of Fredonia. I am proud to call you Fallon’s boyfriend! Love you lots XOXO
