BRIANNA
COLORADO | SERIES #3
In the 7th grade, I thought that I was gay and boy was I right! I had an art class squad who I considered my closest “friends” at the time, but they turned out to be abusive friends but moving on! So, my art class squad were the first people I came out to and I hadn’t really planned on doing it. I got to class that day and I felt this wave of courage come over me. I sat down at the table and waited for, let’s call them Chrissy, Nick, and Malia, to all sit-down and for the class to start. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the sweat building up on my entire body, especially on my palms. I hoped the bell wouldn’t ring or that they wouldn’t show up, however, the bell rang and they showed up. As soon as we’d all settled down I blurted out, “What if I told you that I’m bisexual?” I sat there trying to keep my face blank as they looked at each other then at me. “Are you?” Nick asked. “Well, maybe, just what would you do if I was?” “I mean I don’t know, I don’t really care if you are.” He said nonchalantly. I felt myself let out a breath of air that I didn’t even know I was holding in. We continued to talk about it for awhile and at the end of the class period they asked me, “So, are you bisexual?” All eyes were on me as I said, “Yes, I am bisexual.”
That was one of the most freeing moments of my life. I felt like maybe I didn’t have to be scared anymore and I didn’t. I didn’t have to be afraid and neither should anybody else. I know that some people have parents who’d kick them out or disown them. My advice is to reach out to other people in the community. Especially those who have gone through the same thing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, ever. I know that I have and I know that other people have too. The community is a place where we can connect with other people who are both alike and different
from us. I know sometimes that’s not always how it is and I think we should make a conscious effort to fix that. We should all be supporting each other and lifting each other up. We are a family, and of course, families have their falling outs, but at the end of the day, we have a bond that can’t be thrown away. Some people don’t see that. So, we should make them see and we should also help them see that we all belong to this family.
The most important thing to me, aside from slaying my makeup and having a killer fashion style, is for everyone to have the opportunity to be unapologetically themselves. Freedom is what I value above all else. The freedom to love yourself and the people around you. I strongly feel that society prohibits anyone who’s even a tiny bit different from being able to express love for themselves. So many people in the LGBTQ+ community are afraid to be themselves and to accept themselves because society says it’s “wrong” or “taboo.” In reality, people are just scared of who we might become if we rise up and we accept ourselves for who we are. We should love ourselves. Just because they’re scared doesn’t mean that we have to be too.
