Hey guys :smilewave I only joined EC a few days ago, but so far everyone has been really welcoming and just awesome in general, so I haven't struggled to find help and advice here. After just a few days here, I had encouragement and support I needed to finally come out to my best friend, someone I've wanted to tell for a while, but never knew how to before. But finally, I was able to, thanks to YOU GUYS! So, to all of you, a big THANK YOU is in order! (!) So so far, the only people who know about me are my best friend and his girlfriend, and that's it. I'm not really as fussed about telling my family as I am about telling my friends, as we're all pretty close, but I'm not sure it will be as easy as telling my best friend. I know, pretty much for a fact, that none of them would not like me if I came out, but I can't say that I KNOW it wouldn't create any awkwardness. Right now, i'm struggling to decide whether it would be best to come out now, or to wait. For example, if I started seeing someone, I would tell them, instead of just telling them that I am gay. However, who knows when that might happen. I'm just struggling to find the right time and place to tell everyone. Telling each of my friends one by one seems pretty daunting, and I wouldn't know who to tell/who not to tell. But I couldn't imagine just telling everyone at the same time. So would it be easier to just wait, or do they deserve to know? Would people feel cheated when they knew I'd already told ONE of them but no one else? I know no one here knows my friends, and couldn't predict how they'd react, but hopefully someone here has found themselves in a similar situation and can offer some guidance? I'd really appreciate it! Thanks everyone!:icon_bigg
Sorry for poor post quality, fellow noob, but I suppose, since our situation is completely opposite, that I must simply give you the same advice I would myself for different people. Since these are only your friends, I must assume that you would not be heartbroken if they turned out to be homophobes. If you are feeling brave enough, simply announce it to the world, homophobes included, and count on getting as much support as homophobes. For me, I have a tendency of stating that I am gay whenever someone mentions how a girl i am hanging out with is my girlfriend. So far I have gotten 5 staunch supporters, 3 mild supporters, 1 complete homophobe, and 7 mild homophobes. And I live in the southern area of the US, soo... Don't count on everyone being a homophobe, but don't count on everyone supporting it either. Notice how there were 8 each, so you can count on half of your friends to disassociate themselves, and half of them to become much better friends. And remember that quite a few of them simply didn't have a notable opinion on the subject. Just go out and say it, it may lower your friend count, but it is a definite quality over quanity. Do you really want homophobic friends. In any case, Say it to the world. And be happy.
Thank you! It feels good! ---------- Post added 10th May 2013 at 11:14 PM ---------- Thanks, Bobby! I think you're right, seeing how my friends would react to me coming out would certainly tell me who I can really rely on for support. Like I said, I don't think any of my friends are homophobic, but if it does mean I do lose some friends, then how good of a friend were they in the first place? Thanks again (!)
