“I’m Gay”, those are the hardest words for anyone in the lgbtq community has to say when they are coming out to someone, I know from experience. In honor of national coming out day tomorrow, I have decided to share my coming out story.

From a very young age, I knew that I was gay. They always say that you are born gay, and that is true but  I didn’t come to the realization until I was around 13 years old. I wasn’t sure what was happening with me so I tried to hide my feelings for guys by talking about girls when I was around friends and family, but ultimately that didn’t end up lasting for a long time.

The first people I ended up coming out to where my friends at school, I didn’t know how to tell my family and I needed to tell someone so the first people I ended up telling where my friends. They took it very well and we remained friends until I moved away. I knew I had to tell my family eventually, but that didn’t come for another two to three years when I was 15 years old.

The first person I ended up telling was my stepmom, we were sitting down in the kitchen having a conversation and during the conversation I had mentioned that I was gay. She hugged me and said she was very proud of me for being true to myself and coming out, but she wanted to know if I had told my dad to which I replied that I had not because I didn’t know how to tell him. I was so scared to tell my family because I’ve seen people get disowned for their sexual orientation and I was afraid that could happen to me. She had asked me if I wanted her to tell my dad while I went to go get ready to which I replied yes. I’m not exactly sure what she had said to him but all I know is that when I came downstair, he gave me the tightest hug and said that he loved me no matter what and that made me really happy.

The next person I came out to was my mom, although it wasn’t the typical way to come out, in fact I technically never did come out to her. I remember we were just leaving from some sort of holiday party and I was texting a friend about a guy that I thought was really attractive, but I didn’t realize my mom was putting something away in the trunk right behind me so she saw what I was saying. She had said something to me and I jumped because I never realized she was behind me. I remember the ride home was quiet because everyone was pretty much in shock from what had just happened.

When we got home, it wasn’t the prettiest situation, after being questioned so much about what was going on, I pretty much blacked out and pushed my mom which wasn’t my smartest idea. I don’t really remember what happened next, but I remember having to give my phone password to my mom after everything that happened. At the end of the day, my mom always supports me but she was just upset that I was hiding that from her.

The next people I told were both of my sisters, they were the easiest people to tell. They basically said that they will always support me and love me and that they always knew that about me. I felt very relieved hearing that and to have the support that I still have to this day.

If you are afraid to come out to anybody, just know that you are not alone. There are other people out there in this world who are in the same situation as you so don’t be afraid to ask for help. According to dosomething.org, 80% of gay and lesbian youth report severe social isolation and I wouldn’t want anyone to feel that way so never be afraid to reach out to anyone to ask for help because someone else out there is dealing with the same thing that a lot of people have been through, including myself.