Free to Be Me

Growing up in a religious family attending Full Gospel and Pentecostal churches, I had always heard the typical talk against LGBTQ humans. I knew as a teenager that I was attracted to women, but I didn’t want to be hated or disowned by my family for it. I tried to deny it, tried to fight it, and tried to bury it deep.

I ended up in a terrible 11 year relationship with a man who was mentally, verbally, and sometimes physically abusive. I continued to hide myself. When my ex-husband’s behavior started to get more erratic and the marriage started to really crumble, I started searching for what I wanted in my life. I had been noticing more and more LGBTQ representation on tv and in movies and seeing more people unafraid to be themselves.

At 36 years old, I realized that maybe it was time to admit to myself that I’m gay. I started talking to my closest friends, came out to one of my aunts and they all said the same thing, “we don’t care, we love you!” While trying to find myself I found Only Human and it has been so refreshing to see so much support and love in this community! Two years later, I’m fully out to the world and have been in my first relationship with another woman. While I’ve lost some people along the way, I have learned to love myself for who I really am. It might have taken me 20 or so years, but I can finally say I’m free, free to be me!

This story was shared by a human named Pamela