MYLES
UTAH | SERIES 2
Coming out to my mom was easy. But coming out to my extremely conservative and unforgiving LDS family - That. Was. Brutal. In the end, I am who I am, and though I lost a lot, they can't touch me. They can't hurt me, or change me.
Always, always, always be true to yourself. Find someone you can call your rock, reach out to others, and find your tribe.
For as long as I can remember I've always been different.
I wasn't into the things most kids my age were into, and my taste in clothing always differed from those around me, but deep down, I knew it was something more. People would often ask my mom curious questions about me, questions neither I nor my mom understood. A lot of the questions pissed off my mom, because to her, I've always been perfectly normal, and perfectly perfect.
So, here goes, my name is Myles, and I am a 14 year old queer boy. I live in the conservative city of Kaysville, located in the Mormon capital of the world, Utah. And as you can probably guess, I am surrounded by my religion - well, my old religion. Early on my mom took me to church, got me baptized and did everything else a Mormon mom was supposed to do, but my mom was different. She saw things in people that most of the other ladies in the ward didn't.
She saw the beauty in everyone, she fought for the underdog and she always believed in equality. I suppose that was why coming out to my mom was easy.
But where it got difficult was coming out to my extremely conservative and unforgiving LDS family. That. Was. Brutal. My mom and stepdad fought battle after battle on my behalf, even court battles. In the end, I am who I am, and though I lost a lot, they can't touch me. They can't hurt me, or change me.
I think that for a moment, after seeing how my biological father's family reacted to me coming out, I started to feel ashamed. But I soon learned what loving yourself unconditionally meant: it means to stand up, and not be afraid of who you are, no matter what.
My advice for any struggling LGBT+ kid is to always, always, always be true to yourself. Find someone you can call your rock, reach out to others, and find your tribe. And no matter what, believe in yourself and believe that being your authentic self is kickass!
