I have seen various people posting their experiences of wanting to come out to their friends and family. The reason that I want to write this is to help other people who are struggling with who they are and for them to know it’s okay. As I look back, I remember it was when I was 16 when I began to realize that my entire perspective on life was going to be different.

Growing up, and coming from a strong religious family, there were always rules that I had to live by. These rules included very high expectations. Growing up, I always learned to be respectful of my family, and to do my best to make them proud. As I got older, I thought that I would be the person that finds the “right “man, gets married, has children and grows old with my husband. Who would have thought that wouldn’t happen? Ha.

The Signs

I’ve always admired women for their beauty, but I never noticed that to be a sign. I had a clear sign when I had my first kiss from a guy I thought I liked. Everyone knows that you initially feel a sudden spark after your lips first touch, but that was not the case for me. After that experience, I had these weird feelings that I tried to keep hidden… and it seemed to get harder the older I got. I finally gained the courage to tell my closest best friends at the time. While one accepted me for who I was, the other did not and she chose to not be my friend anymore. Losing that specific friend broke my heart and made me even more fearful about coming out to my family. It wasn’t until almost a decade later that I chose to come out to everyone in my family. While others don’t like the lifestyle I’ve chosen, they accept me for who I am and love me no matter what.

Your Happiness is Most Important

Coming out is something that’s never easy to do, but as you get older you begin to realize the person you want to be. I know that I didn’t choose to be gay, but I was born this way. I was born to love another woman and spend the rest of my days with her. Regardless if you have an easy or hard transition coming out to your loved ones, just know that at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you are happy the way you are!

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