I'm slowly inching my way out of the closet; I've told some friends and family, but I'm from rural PA, and as lot of my friends are slightly homophobic, I'm putting off coming out to them until the end of the summer. Thankfully, I'll be starting college in the fall, where I'm planning on being totally out. I'm going away to school in a pretty liberal city, and my school appears to be very accepting of the LGBTQ community, so this shouldn't be an issue, but I am a bit apprehensive about a couple of things. I'll be getting my roommate assignment in a couple of days, and I'm not sure what to do about coming out to my roommate. I've been listening to my best friend worry about getting a lesbian as a roommate for a whole now, and I feel obligated to come out to my future roommate ASAP so that if she's uncomfortable with it we can look into changing rooming assignments. But, I also don't want people to think I'm just a lesbian. I want people to see me for me, and I'm worried if I come out to my roommate or anyone else immediately, they'll only see the lesbian part of who I am. Do I come out to my roommate ASAP or not? And, for the same reason as above, I want to come out to people in college as casually as possible. The problem is, I've tried to come out casually to people before, and I've always failed. I get way too nervous, cans end up chickening out. How do I beat the nerves?
RE: Beating the nerves One deep inbreath, one long exhale, relax your body and shoulders as you exhale, another deep breath, say what you want to say. RE: The potential room mate Are you somehow able to advertise that you're "gay friendly"? Sometimes that's a good way to say it subtly. I personally think it's a good idea to be out to your room mate / house mate before you move in with them. If you do it afterwards, it can occasionally lead to some stressful situations. Peace! (*hug*)
