Hello everyone! This one is going to sound weird but I'm not new here. It's been two years since I joined and last posted here and, oh boy, a lot has changed and I thought I could come back and reintroduce myself and maybe help someone along the way. Last time I was here, back in 2014, I was out to maybe two or three supportive friends. Those went very well and gave me strenght to keep going. It took me some time to come out to my other friends and coworkers, including religious ones, but I worked the courage to face all of them and tell "I'm gay!" In the end, everything was fine and all of them still love me and, although our relationships have changed, it was for more honest and trusting ones. I had to face prejudice and comments from not-as-supportive people now and then, but it was way easier to deal with then I had expected. In the mean time, I started going out with guys, meeting new people and having my first romantic experiences. Keep in mind I was 24. I now have a boyfriend and I'm starting to learn about those monogamous, long-term relationship things. With the support of my boyfriend and friends, I finally worked the courage to come out to my family. I was obliterated by fear, shaking, thinking that I would be homeless as my parents, althought not homophobic, weren't very supportive of gay people, but I did it anyway. Let me tell you, I was way way way off the mark on them. They were understanding, althought not excited, told me they already kinda knew (for about 20 years they said) and that they still loved me. Our relationship now is both different and the same. That's weird sometimes. We still have a lot of work to do, but things are progressing. I'm not 100% out yet since I haven't come out to extended family yet, but that's a work in progress that doesn't really bother me right now, since that won't stop me from living my life as a queer, happy 25 yo gay guy. So if you are struggling, know that it do get better and easier. Please, please, please, please don't give up on you, on your future and on your happiness. We've always been taught that our lives will be worse and we'll be unhappy and everybody will persecute us if we are gay, lesbian, trans, etc, so that stays in our minds, fear mongering ourselves into the closet, and we believe it's true, but IT IS NOT! IT IS NOT TRUE! We will be happy, we will find friends and allies that support us, we are not too old, we will find love! I hope I helped you guys as much as you helped me when I was just starting this journey. You can count on me. tl;dr: Started coming out 2 years ago. Not 100% out yet, but almost there. Easier than expected.
Thank you, guys! I feel that I had it way easier than a lot of you, and to you I say thank you and congratulations for your bravery and inpiration. But I think a lot of people want to come out but are affraid, as I was, that the world will come crashing down on them and everything will be a disaster, and that's not always the case. I just want to share some positivity.
I hear what you're saying, whathisname, but, as you know everyone has to Come Out (or not) at his/her own pace. While the relief of finally being Open - who YOU are - is there, the consequences to daily life in our still, mostly prejudiced society may ultimately not be worth it for some people.:icon_sad: But positive stories like yours give all us hope. Thanks, again!
