Yeah. I'm 13. I know that may seem young to most of you, but think. This may not be true for everyone, but I know that some people knew that they were gay at 4 years old. Now, on with my story. I prefer gay to lesbian, only in the way that some people prefer feminine to girly. To me, gay and lesbian are synonymous. I was about 9 when I had those first feelings of attraction to girls. Back then, I didn't even know what they meant. It wasn't until I was 11 or 12 that I realized what they actually were. I still wasn't comfortable with my sexuality then, being so young and knowing no other lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans-genders or otherwise. It wasn't until I was 13 (this year) that I came out of the closet for the first time. I was at a Bat Mitzvah party, and it was in the middle of the montage. There was a girl there that I had a crush on, and looked particularly attractive that night. I had this overwhelming feeling of needing to come out at some point to someone. I took my phone out and texted my best friend to meet me in the bathroom after the montage was over. We did, and I just blurted out to her, "I'm gay." Her first reaction was, "Are you serious?" as if I was lying to her. She then asked if I was attracted to her. I told her I wasn't, but I don't think she believed me completely. Her brother is gay, so I guess that's why she tried to get me to tell my parents. Growing up in a Jewish family shouldn't seem as bad as growing up in a really religious Catholic family, but my parents have inadvertently expressed their intolerance of the LGBTQ community. I still haven't come out to them due to this. I honestly think I might wait until I'm 18. To those of you who are still in the closet, here's the one thing I realized. Once I was sure of my sexuality, there was always a sense of unease and turmoil in my mind. The night I came out for the first time, it was like a lump in my throat that I didn't know existed suddenly vanished. In my humble opinion, coming out is really for yourself, and not for the people around you. (*hug*) Thanks for sitting through my story. (&&&)
Hey Miss Bookworm! I agree with you! I'm quite a nerd, so i like to remember my process of coming out as being a huge battle, and the greatest and most powerful enemy was myself, my fear and the prejudices i grew up with. Coming out to friends was hard, but the hardest battle, i won inside my own mind. After that, i was finally free.
That's a pretty good way to describe coming out! I only wish I could have animated my story in that way. Unfortunately, I'm not the best writer.
