The Advice Column II

234

Advice Request
The requester is finding it difficult to come out about their sexuality.

Answered Submission
Hi,

I'm so proud that you had the courage to come out to both yourself and your best friend. I'm glad that she is accepting and I hope that she will continue to be supportive.

Coming out doesn't have to be done straight away. Take some time to figure out who you are. After all, you've only just discovered your sexuality so you don't need to come out to anyone else until you are 100% ready — even then you still don't need to tell anyone.

The only person you really need to be true to is yourself. As long as you do that then the rest will happen naturally. Continue to focus on the things that you love and if you want to tell your family then you could try and express yourself through art.

Before you come out to your parents try to see how they feel about the LGBT community. If they don't seem offended by it then you could drop some subtle hints. This way you're not telling them about your sexuality but are allowing them to give their opinion on the community. If, in the future, it turns out that they will support you and love you like they always have (after all, you are still the child they raised and love) then that is wonderful. However, if they seem a bit unsure it might simply be because they don't know enough, so you can talk to them about it all and about how you're feeling. There's no need to rush into telling them (or anyone else) until you know that you are 100% ready to do so.

Be proud of yourself!

Good luck,
The Advice Column