When I came out to someone for the first time I was 19 years old and knew I was gay since I was 9 years old. I didn't have many friends until I was in high school and for the first two years I was friends with some unaccepting people and I think it further nailed my mouth shut, terrified of being rejected by the few friends I'd had. However I started to get some new friends at the karate school I had been training at since I was 6 years old. These friends were much more accepting and I finally found the courage to tell my friend Nathan, a fellow black belt, over facebook. The courage did come with the assistance of some whiskey and when I messaged him my head practically fell onto my desk, knowing I had finally taken the step. The news was out. I didn't see the message so much as heard the ding that signaled Nathan's response (my head was still pressed into my desk). I looked up and saw the message "Really? That's awesome. I think I might be bisexual". The switch from stress to relief is the most extreme shift I may have ever felt. Nathan and I have since stopped being friends for other personal issues but he was the one who helped give me the confidence to start telling other friends. With each outing, my confidence grew and soon I wasn't afraid of what people thought anymore. The support of my friends let me know that I was no different as an openly gay man than I had been before.
