Who is Foroughi really? He is a guy who has seen many terrible things, experienced many terrible things, but also knows what it's like to fight and stay strong. He knows that he is Stefon Foroughi, the guy who is not ashamed to say that he loves his partner, who is also gay. That he is just like anybody else in this world. He has a great attitude about his life and where he wants it to go: "I've come a very long way to get to where I am today. I would absolutely say I'm more confident now because there isn't a single thing that anyone can tell me that would change my mind about who I am." Foroughi proudly participated in Pride 2018. He thought that it was interesting and that it really affected him, "I just remember really enduring the community that I'm apart of, and seeing how much love and great vibes were all around me. It was just a blessing of seeing how other people should view everyone."
Knowing now that he is able to love himself and find happiness, he is better at closing out negativity. When asked about whether he felt like he couldn't be himself, he said, "not really, I feel like I am who I am and no one can change that, not even my surroundings." Foroughi brightens people's shade with his rays of self confidence. "Worrying about other people's problems about who I was is more so about an issue they have about themselves" he continues, "so I tried my best to really not let anything get the best of me." Those are the words of an optimist. He has more than that to say: "being exactly who I am is freeing to my soul. I've spent enough years hiding in a closet and behind people who would fight my battles and that's just not what I wanted to have for myself. I needed a voice and after some time, I finally got it." This says a lot about one's character. Our insides are our most delicate and sensitive piece of us. It is incredibly powerful to be able to put up with pain and eventually be healed by someone you love.
When asked about people like his father and if those bridges could be rebuilt after such a disastrous fire, Foroughi answered, "I do hope that time will heal some old wounds from my father and I's relationship, but only time will tell." He then adds, "there are two very strong and stubborn personalities involved, so who knows." He leaves the answer open, not shutting that door but hoping that the future may bring them to a place they once were or, better yet, somewhere they have never been that is the greatest of all time.
When asked about how as a whole, not just his personal experiences, does he think that the support of different sexual identities has gotten better, he answered, "some ways I do believe so. On the other hand I think most of us just really want to sleep together rather than build each other up as individuals."
Foroughi is a warrior. He was raised by a good mother and a caring grandmother. His mother and grandmother worked as hard as they could: "I lived with my mom, brother, and grandmother in a 3 bedroom house. Mom was working double shifts 6 days a week just to make sure that my brother and I had what we needed and more." His mom provided necessities, love and nurture, and his gram helped to build a strong young man; "my grandmother basically raised me to be the man that I am today." They "were extremely glad that I came out and expressed who I truly was. They could even see how much happier I was for setting myself free." They helped produce someone who will stick up for himself even when that path may be hard to take. To still be happy to be himself when he has been, literally, knocked down and had hate attached to his back like a sticker. A brave, sweet, courageous, boy that has had to see the world through lens that many don't.