I’m an out and proud Black Lesbian. I own that identity and I embrace it.
Me and my partner have been together for 10 years now. Because of my upbringing, growing up around homophobic comments, listening to homophobic music etc I grew up assuming I had to be with a man. I tried to live a heteronormative life but reached a point where I knew I wanted to live as my true self and ‘came out’ as a lesbian when I was around 23 years old.
Living my truth lets me lead with compassion and kindness in my life, to myself and to others.
I know it isn’t always easy to share your true self. You can lose people and it does hurt but you find your own, chosen family which is wonderful. As you get older, you get to choose for yourself what’s important. What’s important to me is that I can live authentically.
When you’re young it often feels like everything is ‘right now’ but some things take time and that’s OK. I’m 41 years old now and it’s taken me a long time to get to who I am today.
To any young person considering ‘coming out’, I’d say be mindful of who you want to share with and put your safety first. Childline and services like it are a blessing. If young people need someone to talk to, they can speak to Childline and know they can trust the person to listen without judging.
QLife is journey of a long time. No two journeys are the same and wherever you are in your journey, you are valid. Some people might not be ready to accept your truth, but that doesn’t make you any less amazing. You are you and there’s no one else exactly like you.