How I Overcome Challenges of Being Gay With Positivity

Being a gay woman in 2018 has been challenging to say the least, but not at all impossible. I first came out four years ago to my family. And soon after, I started dating my current girlfriend.

I knew I was gay since I was around 14-years-old. While my friends were starting to have boyfriends, I was more interested in keeping up with female celebrities online.

I had huge crushes on movie stars such as Blake Lively and Emma Watson. My friends use to joke with me that I was “gay for them,” but the truth was I was actually “gay.”

Coming out was difficult for me because some of my family members stopped speaking to me afterward. I became quite depressed and the pressure of it all took a strong toll on my mental health.

Eventually, I was able to reconnect with an old friend who I developed strong feelings for. She became my rock and the person who I was able to turn to with everything. Without her help, I would not be half as confident or as strong as I am today. However, I do not know if we will ever get married.

Even though same sex marriage became legal, it does not eliminate the ridicule and hatred we will have to face.

My family has already told me it would be best that I never marry. This mentality just goes to show the limits being put on members of the LGBTQ+ community by society. Personally, I hope that our community keeps being heard in a positive way.

The media can sometimes paint an inaccurate picture of who we are. This is why we need to be represented in the right fashion, both in the media and the real world. Hopefully, if we keep doing this, we can really change the way people view and treat the LGBTQ+ community.