Hey EC! I've been in a weird mood all day and I guess I just want to talk about what's been on my mind. For the past couple of weeks I've been feeling a bit lonely. It's not because I don't have a boy friend or anything, but because I don't have that many friends that are comfortable with me being gay, or anyone else that I can relate with in general. Almost all of my friends are homophobic. It's not like they make fun of me, but they're definitely not cool with it. For example, when I came out to one of my closest friends via text his reply was some verses from the bible, needless to say it hurt me quite a bit. He also becomes extremely uncomfortable (and sometimes just up and leaves) whenever the topic of homosexuality comes up. The case is similar for two of my other friends. My absolute BEST friend is awesome about it, though. She and I talk about guys a lot, but recently we haven't been talking a lot (for no real reason). The friend that I can relate with the most is a lesbian, and no offense, but sometimes it's hard to listen to her talk about girls. I guess I just wish I could have a (male) gay friend that I could talk to, or something like that. My mom and I have talked about going to a glbt center or something, but the closest one we can find is in Memphis. It's not really far from where I live, but the meetings for youth (ages 14-19) are from seven to eight PM on every first and third Saturday of the month. Simply put: Memphis + that late at night = no. I don't guess there's anything I can really do, but I just wanted to get it off my chest. Sorry if I sound whiny, and thank you for listening.
How long a drive is it for you to Memphis? 7-8 pm isn't really that late, especially for a Saturday night. In 2 years when you're in college, you won't even leave for the bar until 11pm. I think it would be worth your while to go. Just my 2 cents.
It's about a 45 min drive. My mom a bit hesitant about going, not me. I really think it would be fun, but she's still debating if it's "safe" or not.
My guess is that the organization is safe. It probably is licensed, or certified, or something to that effect. Whether it is in a safe neighborhood is another question.
Hmm...What are Tennessee's conceal and carry laws like?:lol: Maybe wait until summer when it will be light out well past 8pm.
Isn't Tennessee referenced to as the 'Patron saint of shooting shit' in Shooter? But anyway, I wish you the best of luck with your searches. And you could always check with any other youth organisation in your area. Not all groups advertise that openly for obvious reasons...
i take it u live in the south... that would explain the friend weirdness. well if i were u id set my friends 'straight' and tell them to get comfortable with it cause guess what? its 2010. theres gay ppl in the world. deal with it
I wish I had some easy advice for you but the others are probably right, getting to an LGBT group would definitely be good for you. And it sounds like your mom is supportive of this in principle, which is also great. Just remember that in a couple of years you'll graduate and probably be off to college. Things will change quite a bit from where you are now, which sounds like a relatively isolated and slightly homophobic community (45 minutes radius from Memphis sounds like you're in a smaller rural community). You'll meet many new people with far more varied opinions and perspectives, and you'll have a much better chance of making friends (gay or otherwise) who are very supportive of you. It's almost guaranteed to be better than your current situation. Of course that's still a couple of years off and probably doesn't help in the immediate term. You can always share your thoughts and feelings with sympathetic people here on EC - it's one of the main reasons I enjoy this website!
Seven to eight doesn't sound too late. At that time, most of the dangerous people still haven't finished dinner ^This does beg the question: have you been in contact with the GLBT center yet? Or have you just looked up the meeting times? Maybe you could e-mail or call them about it. They might be able to give you pointers to a group you might know nothing about, or give you contact info for a closeby member who could put your mom's fears to rest. Or maybe just chat to you every so often. Don't give up on your friends, though. At age 16 they're probably just coming to the realisation that gay people are all around and really no big deal anymore. They might grow more comfortable with it in time, and by seeing that you're still the same person, of which they just know a bit more now.
