Last weekend I was asked to attend and help out with a diversity conference the student association I used to be involved in was putting on, Of course, I gladly did.
One of the activities was watching a dramatic dialogue performance. There were three scenes acted out, and each was followed by discussion with the audience. One was about homosexuality and a guy coming out to his college roommate. Basically, the roommate in the scene had a hard time dealing with the fact that his friend of two years was gay and he did not know it.
In the discussion that followed, one person noted that she understood the frustration of the straight roommate because two years is a long time to hide. All I could think was "Two years is nothing"
Later, the moderator of the discussion asked if anyone was willing to share a coming out story. An openly gay member of the group did.
I was extremely tempted at that moment to just say it....to raise my hand and address the group, and tell them that I'm gay...that stereotypes don't fit and even a respected and well known association alum like me can be...and it can be hidden for a long time (I've known some of these folks over 5 years now)
But alas, I did not. The time was not right and I did not want to become the talk of the weekend . The public venue was inappropriate. But the very fact I thought of doing it shows that my comfort level with it is increasing.
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1 comment:
I am glad to hear you are getting more comfortable with yourself. I too have a hesitancy to out myself in a public setting, even after 30 years of being out. Coming out is a lifelong journey that we take one small step at a time, you have already begun, just keep walking forward.
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