I have been concerned about this problem for a while. I'm not feeling bad at this moment. But was there a time in your life in which you worried about acceptance from family and friends? Were you ever concerned about finding acceptance from people outside your family? How did you feel when you were ACCEPTED FOR WHO YOU ARE? Are there any people who accept you for who you are? I am always concerned about this issue. I live in a tolerant state but I'm only out to a few people. There are some backwards people but they aren't upfront about it. Not everyone may agree with it but no one seems to discriminate. By the way, I'm confused about my sexual orientation (I've felt attracted to boys and girls). I go to a community college. Can you tell me any stories of acceptance?
Hey there! I used to be exactly like you and fear coming out to anyone, no matter how accepting I knew the person would be. But I started realizing people will be accepting when I started accepting MYSELF more. I dealt with denial, shame, and all those negative feelings in the past. However, I reached a point not too long ago when I accepted myself. I was born this way and there is nothing I can - all I can do is live a life I'm happy with and I know I'll be happy with another man. I have come out to 4 friends so far and all of them were extremely accepting and didn't judge me at all. They seem to look at me as the same exact person, the only difference being I like boys. Our sexuality does not define us. Strangely enough, I'm not kidding when I say my iPhone is on shuffle and the song "Same Love" just came on while I was typing this. Anyways, I only decided to come out to my immediate family when I was comfortable with myself. I did it 3 days ago and they are confused, concerned, re-assessing everything basically, but they are also very supportive. My parents don't exactly agree with it as my family is very traditional and think of marriage being between a man and a woman. However, I think they are willing to learn a lot from me and hopefully they will finally find full acceptance and comfortability with my sexuality. The last thing I want to say is I realized one day that the people who mattered in my life would stay even when they found out my sexuality. Your true friends will accept you because in the end, your sexuality should not matter to them. Your happiness should matter to them. You being gay or bisexual or transgender doesn't affect their life unless they are worried about being judged for being friends with you - which means the friendship was never that important in the first place. Good luck! Everyone is not going to agree, but if they care about you they will support you. Much love.
I was in group therapy, a month ago. And there were three of us girls that day, and I was nervous. I had a friend who thought lesbian kissing/sex/affection was disgusting and "messed up" and I was afraid that these girls would act the same..but no. The moment I said I was a lesbian, the other two girls instantly chimed in, "I'm bi"- "I'm pansexual" and then we had a great talk afterward about our families and our struggle for acceptance.
The moment I let go of all the fears and outside factors that were preventing me from loving myself and those around me.
I feared what people thought about me; what they would say when they found out I was gay. After coming out to my family, I realized that not everyone was going to accept the fact that I'm gay. My dad has this backward thinking you speak of, as he comes from a traditional family. My mom is more open minded, so that's good. I slowly realized that there would be people to support me although some may not. Looking back, I wasn't very happy. But now that I am at peace with who I am, and am in a great relationship, I couldn't be any happier. I will admit that I still feel concious when I hold my boyfriends hand in public, but I am living my life and I am happy. That's all that matters.
