I just had a long phone conversation with my aunt. She is the 1st person I have told, and I couldn't have asked for anyone more supportive. I think I knew this all along, since she was the person I broached the subject with earlier on. Though, I was not able to come out and say "I'm gay." I can't even remember exactly what I said, but somehow I beat around the bush until she got the picture. I don't know... somehow it seems surreal, but I still don't know why I couldn't say those words. I'd gone over it in my mind so many times, but couldn't form the words. After that we had a good laugh at what would happen if I told my father (her brother). She said I could say "goodbye" at the same time, because he would have a heart attack right there :icon_wink Of course we were just kidding, and she understands it will take time and that I might not ever want to tell him. I think it was good to have told her, because she knows how people in our family never talked about anything like this, she even said the same thing many others have said here, that this is just one piece of me, not something that defines or changes everything about me. Hmmm.... I think I need some time to let all this sink in. It's been an interesting week, to say the least. I just hope I'm not rushing things. One part of me wants to just shout out to the world and get on with my life... but the rational part keeps telling me to slow down. Michael
Congratulations! I am so happy for you that your aunt is supportive. That's great! Go according to your own pace. Go with whatever feels right for you. Go as fast or as slow as you want. You have taken one major step. I am sure it will give you some confidence for future coming outs! Congrats!
There seems to be a trend here of supportive aunts. Myself included, there are lots of members here with LGBT (or friendly) aunts. Nice job, and I hope the rest go just as smoothly.
(!) Congratulations! As others have said, go at a pace you feel comfortable going. And don't forget to update your out status.
Congratulations! As far as not being able to say the words, I got over the major brick wall (it's still hard to form my mouth around the words, but I can manage it when I really need to now) by going somewhere where there was no way anyone would hear and just said it. I rehearsed a conversation but it just centered around saying the words "I'm gay" more than a regular coming out would. I went into the middle of the woods, if you don't have that much to the outdoors try a locked room when your home alone or when you are driving in your car or whatever. This will definitely help you get over how foreign the words feel on your tongue. Great job! I'm glad she was so supportive!
Good job dude! Yea, I recently too just came out to someone. After telling the person I just wanted to tell anyone and everyone. Heh. Since I just moved to a new area, I think I'm going to wait though. Good job though.
Thank you all! It's been a pretty raw day, though... these emotional ups and downs are starting to wear me out, at the same time as trying to continue some semblance of a normal life. I was so happy after talking with my aunt, but then I started to have doubts. I spent the better part of the afternoon trying to rationalizing if I was really gay, going back and forth between yes and no. Maybe it's just because I hate changes... and this certainly shattered my neatly-ordered world. While thinking about that, I probably have such a hard time with saying the words out loud because of how long it's had a negative connotation. Have a younger sister (who just left home for school, thankfully) who used "gay" as a catch-all adjective for "stupid." Without a doubt!
