Nobody said that being gay is easy. You are constantly confronted by people who tell you that what you are doing is wrong, sinful, immoral and disgusting. You may have faced rejection from people important to you and all because of something that you had no control over. And yet you are still here.
You are much braver than you think.
Before you’ve even had the chance to “come out” you had to confront those daunting feelings inside of yourself. The feelings of confusion, isolation and shame. You had to ask yourself “Am I normal?”. That took a lot of bravery. As you grew older you may have been picked-on or bullied because other kids could tell that you were different. It took inner strength to shield yourself from the taunting and to recover from the physical abuse.
Once you decided to share your feelings with another person you had to find the coverage to expose yourself, to be absolutely vulnerable without certainty of how they would react. That took courage that heterosexual people will never understand. You then had to deal with the consequences of your coming out. This may have meant rejection from family, losing friends or being shunned by your community. That too, called for immense inner courage. And all the while you had to forge your own path with little empathy, guidance or direction from anyone else.
With all of the other crap that you have to deal, it’s important that you pause for a moment and realise the bravery and courage that you possess to have made it to this point. You are much braver than you think.
Image by: Jean-Francois Carly
THE MODERN GAY GUIDE TO LIFE 