Kassie, 17 years old, says:
I started my coming out process about six months after I had accepted the fact that I wasn't attracted to guys very much, and that I liked girls a whole lot better. I hadn't come to the conclusion that I was actually gay, but I knew that I was, at the very least, bi. I brooded on it for all that time, and I finally decided that I had to either tell someone or go insane. I opted for the former and told a friend who wasn't particularly close to me (well, at the time) that I was bi. She was incredibly co ol with it and we became even better friends after that. After that I went on to tell two of my really good friends and my cousin, all at different times, of course. They took the news extremely well, but I told them I was bi, so they were like "She still likes guys, what a relief!". Little did they know... That all happened in the summer, so by the time school started I was out to most of my friends and they didn't really care. By mid-fall I had told them all that I was actually gay, which most of them h ad suspected since I had totally stopped having 'crushes' on guys since coming out to them. Again, they had no problem with it. I figured that since my friends had taken the news so well, and since my family was rather open-minded, I should just go ahead and tell them. So, about two weeks before Christmas (good timing or what?) I came out to both of my aunts. They were wonderful. They told me that it wasn't a problem at all, that they were proud of me for saying "I'm gay" without apologizing, and that the y would help in any way when it came to telling my mom (I don't have any contact with my father, so I didn't have to worry about that). I told my younger sister right after talking with my aunts, and she said she loved me-- no matter what. Now I had to pl an how to tell my mom. Not an easy thing to do. I waited for a week, until one of my aunts could come down and help my mom with it all. A good idea, but it didn't happen. My mom sensed that something was up and begged me to tell her what it was. So I did. She was kind of relieved, but she was also sad. She had originally thought that I would be telling her that I wanted to move out or something. I guess my being a lesbian was a lesser thing than my not living in the same house, go figure. She told me that she loved me, and that I'd always be her daughter. I was immensely relieved. She wasn't exactly thrilled, but she wasn't mad, either. It's been about 8 months since I told my mom, and I'm still not out to a lot of people, but most of the ones who matter in my life know. I've lost friends, and some people won't talk to me any more, but I figure that it's their problem and I try not to let it hurt me too much.