Let it Out

I'm proud of myself for some things that I did this weekend. I came out of a few different types of closets:

• I finally came out to a friend I had been meaning to come out to for a while. I was waiting for the right time until I threw the notion of "the right time" out the window and just did it. Good friends will listen no matter what the timing is.

• I had a rough time with a few challenging situations, and I (*gasp*) opened up to friends about it. I didn't just bottle it up and let it fester like I usually do. What a concept!

No, I didn't come out completely in the gay way. But I've noticed that I hide the parts of myself that I won't think certain people will want to put up with. I feel like a burden or that my issues don't merit attention. I invalidate my own problems and identity by keeping it in. And isn't that sort of what being in the closet is like?

I'm getting to a point where I just need to be more honest with people even though the consequences of this terrify me. But in the words of Bettina from Six Feet Under, "I think if you're afraid of something? It means you should probably do it."