COMING OUT STORY - BRUNO
“I’m sorry bro, but do you like men?” - he intimidated me, and he was clearly ready to make fun of me, so I promptly answered “No!! Why?!”
It all started there.
This is actually the first time I’m reflecting on this after I “came out” a few years ago... Honestly, I thought it would be easier to revisit all these memories! It almost feels like I’m going back to those years of hiding the traits of my personality people could pick on…
Breathe in. Breathe out. I’m safe here. (And so are you!)
I can’t think of the exact moment I realised I felt attracted to men, but I can surely say it was a process.
When I was a child, I remember loving Barbies as much as I loved Action Men and Power Rangers. For me, it was perfectly normal to love makeup, cars, pink and blue. My family never, ever, told me what I should do or be. I was raised on freedom, respect and love. I was taught I could grow to be whatever I wanted, to pursue whichever career I wanted, to be free!
To me, this was the norm. This utopia crashed down when I started being picked on at school, mostly by my girlfriend’s boyfriends. They would hate me because I was stealing their girlfriends, but at the same time call me a faggot - 1+1 didn’t equal 2 for them, I suppose.
During this process, while everyone appeared to know I was gay apart from me, I had girlfriends and I was actually in love with them! Nowadays I can understand that was the love “I knew” back then, but I remember feeling like something was off but never overthinking it.
Years passed, I met Rui, I moved to England, became fully independent, and finally felt I owed my parents the truth. I never lied to them - or to anyone - I just didn’t show them the whole truth. I am not entirely sure why it took me so long to be open and honest with them, but in the back of my mind, every time I thought of telling them I was gay, all I could see were those guys laughing at me (I wanted to write “with only half a brain inside their heads” instead, but I understand that’s just my ego trying to project onto them the pain they made me go through, and judgement doesn’t take us anywhere).
When I finally told the truth to those who mattered, it felt like I was born again! No more lies. No more hiding. I would say it actually unlocked even more love between me and my parents and even brought us closer to each other.
My biggest piece of advice to those who are still not sure about how they feel, about how they should tell their parents or friends, etc, would be to just be yourself! Please understand that when you say “I’m gay” or “I’m bi”, you’re not actually telling the truth! Your sexual orientation doesn’t define who you are, nor does the colour of your skin, the language you speak, or the size of your clothes. You are a beautiful soul, who comes from a place of balance and abundance, where all others can see is your soul and your energy!
To conclude, the very first memory I have of feeling truly happy in my own skin dates back to the exact moment I told my parents and their answer was “So what? We just want you to be happy!”
“I’m sorry bro, but do you like men?” - he intimidated me, and he was clearly ready to make fun of me, so I promptly answered “No!! Why?!”
Actually, now that I look back, it all started there.
You can follow Bruno’s journey on Instagram @our_parallel_universe_