I thought I'd share my coming out story on here since it was a pretty positive experience and I feel like I little bit of positivity can be a good, encourgaing thing for those who find themselves beaten down by the idea of coming out. I came out as lesbian to my mom when I was 16, and although I'm starting to doubt that label now, considering my gender identity and mild attraction to men, it was a weight off my shoulders at the time. I was in vehement denial of my like towards women for a long time, despite the obvious signs. I had crushes on my female friends in elementary, innocently tried to kiss them, claimed that one day I would be their husband, not knowing what it all meant. (Thoughts of young, awkward me make me cringe) Anyways, I was sitting with my mom eating dinner after a rough day and we were talking about my cousin, who had recently come out as transgender to my mother. My mother knew I attended and LGBT youth group with my best friend who was a lesbian. I did not tell her that I attended these group meetings as an actual gay person and not just an ally. I had openly expressed my cynism towards the idea of dating and love in general for a very long time. I've seen a lot of diviorces and terrible, failing relationships in my life, so the idea of love seemed more like a fairly tale above all else, and I wanted nothing to do with it for the longest time. So after my mother (good-intentionedly albeit wrongfully) outed my cousin, saying that maybe I would be able to help her since I was involved with the LGBT "scene" for lack of a better word, I decided "fuck the potential consequences I'm just gonna tell her". Now, my mom is by far the best and most supportive person I have in my life, I don't really have a father, or strong ties with my other family members, so her opinion/reaction to my coming out was what that mattered most. She told me she was happy, she said "Please, Alex, as long as you love someone and are happy, I'm happy." I couldn't ask for a better parent honestly. Now I need only to work up the courage to tell her that the reason Im so adverse to men isn't because I don't like them, but because the thought of even the possiblity of getting pregnant makes me want to shoot myself in the stomach (when I was 14 I was thinking "can't wait until I'm old enough to get a hysterectomy", and that, was probably one of the more obvious signs). But I suppose coming out again would mean accepting myself, and the implications my gender will have on my life, and I'm not sure if that's something I'm willing to do yet. Good luck everyone, I hope you also find the person who will support you through anything.
