While I’d always been a little eccentric...

I was around 15 or so when I realized boys were frankly more interesting than girls. With the expected result of an identity crisis to follow that realization. Most people, myself included, don’t just come out once, but to every other person it’s relevant to. My most monumental one would be towards my family, who I came out to mostly so they’d stop pestering me about girls. And also because I was considering joining Outsite, which was a little hard to justify to family without coming out.
My family had always been very accepting, but a little uneducated on the topic of sexuality and gender. So I wasn’t necessarily afraid they wouldn’t accept me, at least not my direct family. But there’s always a bit of a mental block in actually saying it as it’s such a secret you’ve carried with you.

Way back, I first told some friends who I already knew were queer...

which led to more friends knowing. Eventually I went to university and my friends there were also very accepting. My mother in particular had her suspicions already and so kept bringing up the topic in conversation over the years, to a great deal of annoyance for teenage me. One night that led to a bit of an awkward comment of hers that prompted me to just throw out my ‘secret’ to her cause I was done with it all. The next morning my dad just gave me this silent big dad hug while we were getting ready for the day, I knew definitively then that everything was going to turn out just right.

What I would pass on to people who haven’t come out yet?...

Safety first! Carrying a secret is difficult as hell, but dealing with an environment that will despise you if they know is even worse. Figuring out what people’s opinion on the matter is beforehand really helps in making the decision on whether to come out or not.

My non-normative position does not necessarily play a role in my student lif, though it has made me an active member of Outsite and thus more involved in student activities around town.