COMING OUT BOLD

It's been 2 years since I publicly came out on Social Media as PANSEXUAL, even though I've been out to a lot of my friends and what a journey this has been.

It's unfortunate that PRIDE isn't happening this year, but understandable considering the situation and PRIDE is an emotion.

Post the PRIDE march, we went to an after party. Spent around 2 or 3 hours there but because of the amount of people there, we decided to go to another club to party (a heterosexual one). I went to the restroom and didn't realize this man in front of me. As I went to do my business, this man grabs me by the collar and pulls me back and said there is a line. I was already a little buzzed, but I apologized and said I didn't realize that you were in front of me, but you didn't have to grab me by the collar. Then he asks me if I was from a certain area, and I nodded my head. He saw the PRIDE flag which I had on my face and told me that if he saw me in that place, he would beat me up and insulted me.

This was something I have not told a lot of people, but in that moment I didn't know how to react and by that time, he just vanished and my friends were right outside ready to make sure that he would not go walking.

I guess what I'm trying to put across is from that day to now, I've grown immensely as a person proud of who I am and not caring about what people say about my existence and my sexuality.

I hope this story resonates with people who are coming to terms with how they identify themselves and their sexuality. My message to everyone is that, if you are bothered of what society will think of you, of being thrown out of your house, or facing all the issues that a queer person faces; remember you are your number one priority. Let no one bully you, belittle you &make you question your worth!