Always Finding a Reason to Stay

I am a 26 year old lesbian in N.C.  I grew up in a Christian home and was a woman of the Lord. I married a man when I was 21, because religion said it was what I should do. By 23 I had left and we were divorced by the time I was 24. I started dating a woman and I was terrified to come out to my family. My story is much different than many. My family, despite their beliefs and how we were all raised, accepted me for who I was and welcomed my girlfriend in. I’m currently single, but they still support me and my decisions.

Fast forward to now and how Only Human has really grabbed ahold of me. Since high school I have battled fiercely against anxiety and depression. I had grown to love the “Stay;” stickers and apparel and what it stood for. My best friend also struggles with this and I started tagging her in some “stay;” posts. Now, we both have “stay; Always promise me tomorrow” stickers on our kayaks. She has a stay; sticker on her phone case and her water bottle. I have a stay; sticker on my work laptop. About two months ago, we both got stay; tattooed on our arms. It’s a reminder that we always need to stay here and that we always need each other. It has become our thing that we have embraced wholeheartedly. It’s the hope we hold on to. It seems like no matter how crappy life is, how awful the day ends, we always have each other, and that is always reason enough to stay.