I came out & was accepted!!

I’ve been terrified to come out since I found out I’m trans at the beginning of the year, but I finally bit the bullet. I sent a text out to all of my friends individually and each and every one of them responded with nothing but love and support.

My whole life I’ve lived hiding myself in a box, pretending to be whoever would make me receive the conditional love from my family. I was suffocating and I didn’t even realize it. Last summer, after I turned 22, I started healing and all of these masks and chains began to fall off until I realized who I was didn’t need the conditional love of my family to be real. I realized I loved myself for who I was and that was what mattered most.

Because of my shitty family environment, I thought everyone else would treat me the same, even my friends who I loved more than my family. Yet, I ripped the bandaid off and thankfully it was all in my head. All of my friends support me and are going to use my preferred name and pronouns!! For anyone out there suffering and struggling, please know that there is hope out there; know that there are good people who really do love you for who you are no matter what.

Stay safe and never stop loving yourself ❤️

- Gemma