Who's revealed themselves to you?
Have you ever revealed yourself?

One summer a friend sent me an email: Need to talk to you tonight. Something serious. I really had no idea what to make of it. So, I went over to his place after work, and we went out for dinner. And as we're driving to the restaurant, I ask: "So...what's the serious stuff on your mind?" He was quiet for a second, and then said: "I've decided that I'm attracted to men and women. I'm bisexual." Looking back on it now, I realize it was a bigger deal for him than for me. There was a part of him that he needed to let out and breathe, and he did. I'm glad he trusted me enough to let me be one of the first people to know. The man still needs to get out and date more, but that's beside the point. Adam {rak@openwindow.org} the question posed here has duplicity with regard to chris, his sexuality was only the first of the hidden things he revealed, his true colors with regard to our friendship was another. time has passed and i am beyond the anger now. when i look back at that time, i see it as educational. i learned that hiding who you are can make you a miserable person and keep you separate from everyone in your life; that labels like gay, lesbian, bisexual, don't mean much, they are just words; and that deep down the quality of the person's character is what is important. michael {michael@otherside.org} to the one person I know better than any other...Tom...we have opened our souls to one another...we are as close to one as two people can be. jen i'll never forget my parents anniversary. i'll forget the year, but it was about 10 years ago. i am the yongest of 3, with 2 sisters. so we were gatherered around the table, talking about whatever, and my oldest sister announced that she had answered a personal ad, which i thought was a wonderful thing because she had but one boyfriend and i thought it would be great for her to have somebody. i opened my mouth and inserted a foot-"what's his name" or some similar gender-specific question. "Well...it isn't a 'he', it's a she". And so our family embarked on the acceptance of a bisexual member. My conservative parents still make the blunders, the type they use on exaggerated comedy skits, but in real life come across as prejudice. But i truly admired my sister for being able to put all the family pressure aside and be who she is. Unfortunately, 10 years or so later, she's still alone. That's the part that still hurts. She deserves someone to love, just like the rest of us. john I've only had a handful of REALLY good friends. They're the ones who don't pretend to be anything else but themselves and they reveal themselves to me in delightful ways. Here's to not having to worry about being yourself and being who you want to be. :) Nishankan Pakkiyaretnam {n.pakkiyaretnam@student.qut.edu.au} An old boyfriend revealed to me, very soon after I met him, that he was bisexual. We talked in great detail about it, feeling very close as friends. I learned a lot from him, am very thankful for the experience, but in the end it got to be hard for me to deal with. We were attracted to the same people, men and women. We would be out with friends and he'd be flirting with someone and it would eat me up. Of course, that was just a symptom of a larger problem and not the reason we broke up in the end. Today I'm still attracted to open men like him. susan {susan@ricommunity.com} When I was seventeen, my friend Laura and I sat in her bedroom one night talking about our other friends. When the conversation turned to Meredyth, I said something like ... I really love her -- not in that way, you know, but just as a friend ... an automatic attempt to deflect speculation. And Laura said, very quietly, Well, I do. Love her that way. And I sat there, desperately regretting my dissemblance, and shamed by Laura's bravery, but still unable to reverse myself and admit the truth that I'd just denied. The conversation moved on to more harmless matters, all of which are long forgotten now ... but that one moment stayed with me, and after that I promised myself that I would always be honest about who I was, because no scorn or disgust would ever sit as hollowly in my stomach as that shame. Karawynn {eponymous@karawynn.net} I have a friend whose relationship has basically stayed separate thanks to glass screens, keyboards, and the rest of modern technology. We quickly became friends, and even quicker I found myself desiring to talk to her. She had become someone to whom I could confide in. The words that she and I spoke to one another would have hinted at no apprehension with one another. At least, not until we actually met in person. Then it was like walls that never were there before suddenly materialized and we didn't have anything but silence. This put a tremendous strain on our relationship and almost killed it. I couldn't make myself believe that someone like this, after I had revealed myself so much, could just totally turn their back on me. It was cruel to me. This is really just me shortening a story that I could write pages about... Things are better between us now, not where they use to be, but better. Jeremy {justice@olemiss.edu} 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 { add your experience }