Is it suppose to be instant relief? Because I kind of feel awkward about it a little bit. Here is the conversation we had on facebook: Me: Have you read my info page recently? Her: no why Me: just checkin Her: what am I supppose to read? Me: if you cant find it I cant help you Her: jsut read it all and I get nothing Me: omg Her: gay? Me: there ya go Her: why does it say that? Me: because I'm gay Her: is that a joke Me: nah its not but if you want to believe it is you can Her: are you serious? Me: yes I'm gay but dont tell mom or dad or andrew Her: why not im not going to Me: becaues I'm personally not ready to tell them Her: but fuck.. people will see that Me: nah its been like that for a while no one ever notices if they do oh well Her: its good your coming out its okay Me: I know it is Her: i love you either way Me: I know thanks w00t that was easier than I thought well, I guess thats all lol are you like weirded out? you dont want to talk about it? Her: no I will I gotta go smoke I really dont know what to say. Is it normal to feel kind of weird about it?
I just came out to my family two days ago and at first I felt very awkward. However it is slowly becoming less and less awkward as it has not caused a significant change in my daily routine.
I expected confrontation but got none when I told people. I think thats what weirded you out, as it did me. But I am sure you are sinking in to the fact that you have a new life now, a life that you don't have to hide. Its like you broke all the barriers to pour out your heart and they didn't even think its a big deal in the first place.
It was awkward when I told my sister a little in that, well she was shocked and I guess didn't know what to say and I didn't either really. It takes time to sink in sometimes. In fact I don't see or talk to her that often and even though she knows, we've never really talked about it so if it was brought up I have no idea how it would feel
I felt the exact same awkwardness after. I was waiting for this big sense of relief but that came over time when I realised nothing had changed at all and my friends were still cool with me.
Its ok to feel weird and awkward about it...especially with family members. That will go away with time. Congrats on coming out to your sister.
Thanks everyone! I'm just happy that it went so well! We went out for dinner afterwards and talked about it a bit more. She told me how proud she was of me. Next, my brother......
That's awesome! Congrats! (and don't forget to change your out status to commemmorate ) The first family member is also always the hardest. I'm sure that with your sister's backing, coming out to your brother will go easier than you might think it would. When I came out to my mom and brother, I remember feeling surprisingly little. I was expecting either a big outburst of support, or on the other extreme, an outburst of denial and anger, but what I got was basically just them acknowledging that this didn't change anything. Which is quite uneasy if you're expecting a big climax of emotions. But it gets better. At first it's a bit awkward, as you can't help being constantly reminded that they really know, and yet don't really mind. But as you found, after a couple of talks, you get used to it, and then you can work at actually being out, which is way more pleasant than everything that came before.
Congratulations (*hug*) I'm happy for you your sister is supportive. You can be proud of yourself, that's a big step done (*hug*)
Thanks to everyone for the support. I've been really struggling doing this again, however. Like I've even considered saying it to some friends but I can't in my mind imagine how I would bring it up. I absolutely loathe the thought of being like "Hey I got something important to tell you, bla bla bla bla bla bla." Because that so is NOT me. It isn't. I really just want to write everyone a letter and tell them in a short paragraph or so.
Hi there! There isn't a right or wrong way in coming out. If this works for you and this is the most comfortable way for you to come out, go for it!
Hey, congratulations on coming out, your sister sounds very cool! Good luck with the brother, but you probably won't need it.
Hey, original poster, i did mine mostly through long emails/facebook messages and or msn. I just typed them up and press send. The first few are difficult, but now I am comfortable saying it verbally.
Coming out isn't always an instant relief. It's not always easy, and it doesn't always change things. But it's still a good thing you're comfortable enough with who you are to feel like you could tell your sister. As for telling your friends - whatever way feels best, that's what's good for you. I've told people in writing, face to face, even over the internet. It's up to you how, or if, you do it. If you want to write a short letter, then go for it. If you don't want to make a big fuss of it, you could just drop it into the conversation. If you don't make a big deal, they probably won't either. Congrats again on comint out to your sister, and good luck with all your future endeavours.
