Live Your Truth

Last week, Denise talked about the moment her best friend came out to her. Her beautiful story made me realize something– most of my openly gay friends have never “come out” to me. They all just started living in their truth and stopped caring what other people think. The more I thought about it, the happier it made me because I realized that we may be getting to a point where “coming out” is no longer a big reveal. We can all just live in a world where people love who they love and it’s no one else's concern.

The milestone of coming out is an incredible moment for many people in the LGBTQ community. They reach a point where they realize that there’s nothing wrong with them and finally feel comfortable sharing their true identity with their loved ones. But imagine living in a world where you don’t have to reveal your sexuality?  Being straight, gay, bisexual, queer– it makes no difference. What if we stopped assuming people’s sexualities/gender identities and instead allowed them to shamelessly discover their preferences?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine about this and asked him why he never felt the need to come out. He shared with me that growing up in a time with LGBTQ representation made him feel like there was nothing to be ashamed of. He didn’t feel marginalized anymore to the point where he thought being gay was newsworthy. “You didn’t have to sit me down and tell me you were sleeping with men, right?” he shared. “Why should I have to?”

His point really resonated with me. Why does he, as a gay man, have to reveal his sexual identity? Cisgender, heterosexual individuals don’t have to go through the same anxiety of sharing who they are attracted to because it’s considered “normal,” but being gay is normal too. It’s imperative that we, as a society, reach a point where we accept our differences and allow people to live freely. Love who you love and live in your truth because there’s nothing wrong with who you are.