for me, I went to a coffee group meeting today, the people were welcoming, took a lot of courage to go. I enjoyed it & plan to go again. Sad thing is though, I've not felt able to share it with anyone I know - be honest. I was married for a while, got grown up kids, parents very homophobic. I've got one close friend who has gay relatives but don't even want to open up to her at the moment. I don't want to hear (I'm talking relatives&straight friends) negative thoughts & opinions. How I feel isn't going to go away. I don't want to waste more years if that makes sense.
Good for you! I'm happy for you, you have me smiling. It sounds like you are in a good place that is likely to get even better. Thank you for inspiring me, too.
Good for u! I have a crush on a girl, and I just told her about that (she's conveniently gay, but doesn't seem like she's interested) but I couldn't talk to anybody about it, for the same reason but this group and yesterday her
Thanks for your replies. It took courage to go, I've never been to anything like this before. Do either of you have any Meet Up groups near you? I tried looking at dating sites but didn't feel that was for me at the moment. I'm a long way off coming out to family.My parents will be disgusted - likely I will be disowned. One day at a time.
I live in a small redneck town.. We really don't have much, and if they did, I am not as brave as u r... ;-) Yeah even if I had any relationship with any girl I would never tell my parents and probably would be too ashamed to tell anybody but here... Or show up with her in public...I am a coward I know... But u go girl!! Proud of your bravery !
I hadn't thought of an LGBT Meet Up group, thanks for the idea. I did a search, and no, none here in my town. I'm proud of your bravery, too. Good job! My situation is a little different. I'm definitely bisexual, I have been for all my adult life. But I'm lucky to be married to a wonderful woman who has known about my bisexuality and loves me as I am. So for me, it's not about finding a partner, it's about trying to come out and be myself fully. I am a bass player, and I can do a good job in most musical genres. Last summer, I was between bands and looking for something new. I found an online advertisement in a town not too far away that was "Looking for LGBT Musicians" to put together a new band together. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to answer that ad, I know I could have been a killer bassist for them. But I wasn't "out" publicly, which would have had to happen, and I didn't feel ready. So I missed the opportunity, and I still regret that. I'm in a band now that is doing well, but every time one of our singers says something intolerant at practice, I cringe and wish I was out. Sorry for getting off-topic. Your bravery is inspiring to me. I am currently reading "Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World" and trying to figure out how I'm going to come out. One of the things I have to overcome, honestly, is the fact that I can comfortably wait if I want, because I'm in an otherwise normal-looking marriage. My challenge is coming up with the bravery to overcome that.
I don't feel very brave! It's a bit scary but I was surprised at how comfortable I felt, part of which was due to the other people ( male and female) were all friendly. I felt aware of my lateness (my age)of getting to this point, some people were so young but so comfortable with themselves, it saddens me to realise how with my parents I wasn't "allowed" to be anything but straight. It struck me how different things are now compared to my 20's. Technology has meant things like this forum, finding the coffee group I went to are available now. I was given a contact via the LGBT helpline. I'm way, way off telling anyone but you guys lol! Oh and the coffee group! One step at a time.
