When I came out to my best friend, who is a very funny person just like me, I decided to use a joke. I told her I like women like she likes her coffee. She said she doesn’t like coffee. When I said, “Exactly,” she got the pieces together and started laughing. She was very supportive after that. (M/17/Gay)
Story #1839
When I came out I didn’t know what to expect. I have had feelings for girls since the fourth grade… but I’ve known I had always liked guys too. I wanted to come out to my cousin first because they are in lgbtq+ community. They said they will support me if I ever needed it. They promised they wouldn’t tell anyone because I was afraid. I still have not come out to my guardians because I am scared to say my sexuality. (F/13/Bisexual)
Story #1847
When I came out, I was 13 and had my first crush on a guy (who was bi). All my friends were supportive and turned out to be LGBTQ+ too. The crush and I never had a relationship, but he helped me through things and I soon realized that I was gay, not bisexual. Now I just need to find a way to come out to my extremely religious homophobic parents who sit me down each day and tell me that being gay is a huge sin. Hope things go well! (M/15/Gay)
Story #1838
When I came out I was talking to my friend. Somehow it turned into who would you marry. Then I was like, “A guy.” I then realized what I just said. He didn’t really care. He two weeks later came out to me as transgender. (M/15/Gay)
Story #1846
When I came out, it was at first to just one of my friends who was easily supportive, and we made jokes together for a few weeks. Me, her, and some other friends were having a discussion about abortion laws and at some point we started discussing if we would get abortions and the likelihood of needing one. So I turned to my friend, who knew I was ace, and asked her the likelihood of me getting pregnant and needing an abortion. We both started laughing at that joke and I ended up coming out to the whole group and we just talked about LGBT matters for the rest of lunch. (F/14/Demi-romantic/ace)
Story #1837
When I came out I started by telling my friend over Instagram, because she did a poll on her story asking who was LGBT. I said yes and then I told her not to tell anybody ’cause I was too scared. About 3 months later I told my other friend, because I was feeling really upset and she could tell something was wrong. We talked about it for about an hour. She helped me to have the courage to come out to my parents, which I finally did about 2 weeks later. I wrote a letter to them but I ended up just telling them. Then I told all of my close friends through an Instagram post. Everyone was really supportive but I still feel afraid of talking about it. I don’t have any queer friends and I just feel like a freak every time I talk about it. (F/22/Bi)
Story #1845
When I came out I was fifteen. I had just found out that I was bi. I went to school at that time and I told myself I wouldn’t tell anyone, not even my friends, because I was scared that they wouldn’t know how to act around me. One night, I went to a party and got so drunk that I screamed on the top of my lungs that I was bi and then I fell on the ground and started sobbing. People were super nice. They gave me speeches on how I should accept myself and carried me to my friend’s car so she could drive me home. (F/Bisexual)
Story #1836
When I came out, my mom was driving and I told her I was pansexual. She said she already knew and that she still loved me. About 9 months later, I told my close friends that I’m non-binary and they now use they pronouns, but only a few that know are accepting. I had originally submitted one on Jan 30, 2015, but a lot has changed since then 🙂 (Non-binary/16/Pansexual)
Story #1835
When I came out my husband almost killed himself. Everyone has accused me of being a lesbian my whole life and I hated it! I always knew who I was, but I never accepted myself. I was emotionally/mentally killing myself, but 3 kids, 1 marriage, & a chow chow later I’m a happier person. 🌈 Bring it on LIFE🤜🏻 (F/27/Lesbian/bisexual?)
Story #1834
When I came out I was completely terrified. I wanted so badly for someone else to know so I pulled my friend aside during recess. I started shaking before we even sat down, and as soon as we did I burst into tears. My friend hugged my tight and asked me what’s wrong. I struggled to say the words so I wrote it down on a piece of paper. She hugged me even tighter and said that everything would be okay, and that she promised not to tell anyone because she knew that it’s my decision to make when I come out. That is one of my happiest memories. (M/12/Homoromantic)