Post by Trublu on Jan 11, 2009 12:59:45 GMT -5
To get this board started, I thought I'd share my coming out experience with all of you. It's kind of an on-going process; my parents know, my siblings might (I haven't told them, but my sister might have seen on facebook), my extended family does not know, but all my friends do.
When I first realized I was gay, I was really scared about coming out; I didn't know of anyone (at the time) who had done it, so I didn't know what to do or say, if anything. Finally came the point where I decided to just tell one of my best friends, and it turned out that she was bi. It was a fantastic and liberating feeling, so we both told our other best friend, and then came out to our other friends at the same time. My friends were pretty easy, actually.
But then came my parents. I probably did the worst thing, and let it slip during an argument. I'm still really not sure how they feel about it, but I remember their reaction not exactly leaving a pleasant marker in my brain. I don't talk to them about it, at all. The rest of my family... I think a couple people might know, but only from comments I've made.
By far the hardest thing to do was come out to a couple mentors in my life. I decided that I had known one for four years, and one for two, and my sexuality was something I didn't want to hide anymore, but I wanted them to know from me, and not someone else. I sat them both down and explained that there was something really important about me that I wanted them to know, and I told them. Both were very supportive, like I thought they would be. It was still very hard, though, because I think very highly of them, and I don't know what I would have done if they had taken issue with it.
But, what all these experiences have taught me is that being open about being a lesbian is one of the best things I've ever done. I use to actively hide it; now, I'll either comment how I wish, or not at all.
When I first realized I was gay, I was really scared about coming out; I didn't know of anyone (at the time) who had done it, so I didn't know what to do or say, if anything. Finally came the point where I decided to just tell one of my best friends, and it turned out that she was bi. It was a fantastic and liberating feeling, so we both told our other best friend, and then came out to our other friends at the same time. My friends were pretty easy, actually.
But then came my parents. I probably did the worst thing, and let it slip during an argument. I'm still really not sure how they feel about it, but I remember their reaction not exactly leaving a pleasant marker in my brain. I don't talk to them about it, at all. The rest of my family... I think a couple people might know, but only from comments I've made.
By far the hardest thing to do was come out to a couple mentors in my life. I decided that I had known one for four years, and one for two, and my sexuality was something I didn't want to hide anymore, but I wanted them to know from me, and not someone else. I sat them both down and explained that there was something really important about me that I wanted them to know, and I told them. Both were very supportive, like I thought they would be. It was still very hard, though, because I think very highly of them, and I don't know what I would have done if they had taken issue with it.
But, what all these experiences have taught me is that being open about being a lesbian is one of the best things I've ever done. I use to actively hide it; now, I'll either comment how I wish, or not at all.