Hi, I've been a lurker here for a while now; reading other people's stories has really helped to cheer me up over the past few months. Yet now the time has come I may need your help. Let's start at the beginning: I first started to realize that I may be gay about 3 years ago. I really liked this friend of mine. However at the time, I thought the least of it (like most of us apparently do), thinking it was just a phase; Especially since I "thought" i liked a girl back then, that was nothing compared to what I feel for guys now. Over the next few years I slowly started accepting that I was gay. Yet I was always doubtful of being bisexual. So when my doubt was at it's fullest, 9 months ago, my parents announced that they were getting a divorce. It couldn't have happened at a worse moment: it triggered a minor depression (nothing too serious). My parents divorced and a few months later I confirmed myself of being gay. Skip ahead about 3 months and me, my younger brother and my father are going to Norway (Most beautiful country I've ever seen, something I'll never forget and can really recommend).In Norway we hike a lot, which we usually do. I really enjoy hiking because it gives me a clear mind, the possibility to clearly think things through. And unsurprisingly I start thinking about coming out (which I already thought about previously). So, over the course of my 3 weeks in Norway I started planning my coming out to my mother. I had given myself a date: 24th August. Let's just say I bailed. My heart was racing all day, and I was unable to say anything related to coming out. So, here I am, 2 weeks later, still closeted to my mother. So I've been thinking about how to go about this. After lots of reading (on EC) en thinking, I had this idea about talking to another gay person I know from a few years back: He finished high school 1,5 years ago, and got to know him 2 years ago when I joined our school's stagecraft-team. I don't see him very often anymore and we're not close at all, but I do think it'd be for the better to talk to someone whose gone through something similar. (I also think I was caught on his gaydar :lol He still comes by to help with the bigger plays/shows. But that's only twice a year... Extra info: I'm very shy and it took me a whole lot of time to even gather the courage to post this. My parents are supportive of the LGBT community. My mother has a gay couple as neighbours (I never met them), and is clearly supportive of the new developments in equality. However, I've never heard my father comment on anything LGBT related, neither positive nor negative, other than gay marriage equality in the US being a good thing. Any ideas/tips?
Hey! One of the positive things is that your parents do appear to be gay friendly, which is always a good thing to know. I think one of the best things to do would be to send an email to your mum. Although some people think face to face is better (it could be), but I would be extremely nervous and when I get really nervous I do find it difficult to talk and I would probably make a complete mess of it, but in an email you can take your time and write everything you want to say and it also gives your mum the time to read it in her own time. With your dad, maybe he doesn't say anything about anything LGBT related is because it does affect him, maybe he doesn't know anyone who is gay and therefore doesn't have the need to say anything. I would class that as a good thing, as if he had an issue with the LGBT community, you would probably know about it as people who have a dislike of something tend to mention it a lot. Ant
Hey Writing a letter/email has crossed my mind several times already, but whenever I'd start thinking about what I'd write, I just feel like I want to tell her myself instead via a letter. I think coming out to my parents is something I want to do in person, I just don't know how. As for my father, I thought about it the same way you did. It's true he doesn't know anyone who is gay.
