Story #2698

When I came out, I came out at 38, after a lifetime of repressing my bisexuality. A childhood spent being mocked for anything about me that was different had taught me to mask myself so carefully even I didn’t know it. Until a new friend showed me a path to realizing everything about me is normal. And I figured it out, and came out. And I’m happy now. I’ll always feel a sense of grief for the versions of me that never got to live, but I’m grateful to know who I am, to understand what happened to me, to love myself for who and what I am, and to live completely free of the shame that ruled my entire life for so long. I hope for a world where everyone can know this freedom. I’m out and proud because I want to build that world. There’s work to do and I refuse to hide from it. (M/38/Bisexual)