Hi everyone I first found this site a couple of years ago when I realised that I probably wasn't straight - that was about as much as I knew at the time. For various reasons, including stupidly feeling paranoid that someone would recognise me on here I stopped posting. It was so long ago that I've not got a clue what my username was but I remember this being a really great and supportive place. There's so much changed in my life since then that I figured I'd be as good starting fresh - and I plan to stick around this time When I was last a member here I had just split up with my boyfriend of three years and most of my other relationships and experiences had been with men. I've now been with my first girlfriend for over a year. Things haven't always been great between us and the fact that we're both kind of closeted causes quite a few tensions but it's been a relationship that's taught me so much about myself and confirmed what I'd already started to suspect. In the time that I've been with her I've started coming out to some close friends and a few people at work. I'm not a huge fan of labels so it's usually been done my confirming that yeah, the person who I've mentioned quite a bit is my girlfriend. Just seems more natural than declaring my orientation in the middle of a conversation about the weather It feels like there's been lots of little steps along the way, like ticking a different box from what I used to on a survey, but it feels good to be honest and I know I'm much more open and relaxed around the people I'm out too. The next big challenge is my family and I'm sure I'll find lots of advice on that around these forums.:icon_bigg
