Hi. I have been lurking around for a couple of days and I thought that I should introduce myself. I am 23 years old and I am struggling with coming out. When I was younger I always kind of knew that something was different about me but I never exactly knew what. When I was in college I met quite a few people. One of the friends I met, who is now my best friend, continuously told me that I was gay. She was not saying it in a bad way but rather she wanted me to feel comfortable about who I was. I would get quite upset and completely deny that I was gay. After college I went away to university. My first year I started to come to terms with who I was. I have told several of my friends, a couple of my co-workers, my previous nurse practitioner, and my therapist that I am gay. My mom and brother however do not know. I have a feeling both suspect that I am gay but I have not confirmed it. I am not as worried about my brother as I am my mom. Both are very homophobic and often make offensive comments/jokes. I don’t want to disappoint my mom and I don’t want her to disown me or kick me out. Nor do I want her to be mad at me. That all said, I am tired of hiding. I am tired of not being able to be who I am. I am tired of feeling judged and like I am not welcomed in my own house.
I totally feel what you're going through. I'm just as worried to come out to my family too. I have a friend who is constantly asking me if I'm gay, but I deny it... One of these times I think I'll finally come clean and tell her everything. As for my family, I really hope they accept me for who I am, and if they don't, then it's their problem, not mine. Homophobia runs pretty deep in my family and my small town. I hope I can get them to see a brighter side of this situation.
