It's National Coming Out Day! It's not my first time coming out, nor will it be my last. Every time I do, regardless of the situation, I am filled with anxiety and doubts. Is this the year that the acceptance I've cultivated in myself and in others evaporates? Are there going to be negative consequences this time? Which relationships will turn cold because of who I am and my refusal to hide that? Maybe this year, just this one time, I'll keep it to myself. I can celebrate everyone else this year without talking about myself. But then I remember teenage me. Me at 15, 16 and confused. I thought there was something wrong and I was ashamed of my feelings. It was a sin, I had been told. I remember actively denying those feelings and ignoring it all, until I couldn't. When I came out for the first time, to my roommate and best friend, and I was accepted with no judgment, it gave me hope and made me feel loved and whole. While not every coming out experience has been as pleasant and validating, not by a long shot, I have not regretted it one time. So I continue to come out. I reach back to young me and reassure her that there is nothing wrong with her. I reach out to the people who have come out to me and love them and remind them that they are perfect as they are. I reach out to those who haven't yet come out, no matter the reason, and I hold out the promise that it will get better. I'm Pansexual, I'm Demiromantic, I am Queer. #nationalcomingoutday #imhereimqueer #pansexual #demiromantic #queerpower https://www.instagram.com/p/B3eigE2FMl1/?igshid=rgyg8n7zfadd
