Growing up feeling like I didn’t quite fit in had its good and bad. On one hand, you have the time to learn about yourself, but on the other, you spend a lot of it wondering, “What’s wrong with me?” For me, that journey started early—when I was just 10 years old, beginning to question my sexuality and gender. Which eventually led me to suppress my emotions, to hide the person I wanted to be. It shaped me into an angry, sad person at such a young age.
A few years later, something inside me shifted. It took me months before I could even say the words out loud, let alone to anyone else. I finally found the courage to share one day, on a walk with my best friend when I came out.
To this day, she’s like a sister to me, and I’m forever grateful for her support. She encouraged me to tell my mom. Even though I knew my mom was my biggest supporter, I was still terrified. But months later, I finally was ready. My mom hugged me tight, and she simply said, “I knew. I love you no matter what.”
Now, as I’ve grown older and more confident, I embrace who I am and how I present myself without fear. Life is too short to live for anyone else’s approval. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: we only get one shot at living our truth, so why not make it our truest, fullest self?