Gratitude Part II

I just wanted to continue one last post about the people I am grateful for.

I wanted to thank my Aunt Linda. You were so instrumental in helping through such a hard time in my life. I am grateful for you and for all of your help to get me where I am today. It took me baby steps to come out to you and it then took me quite a long time to tell anyone else, but just having your love and acceptance is what kept me going. It kept me going until I was able to tell others. I love you and your individuality.

My brother Bryan, I am so grateful for you. You have been a great person for me to be able to lean on. You are so great about being open and discussing these things with me. If I feel like homosexuality topic is uneasy for the person then I don’t like talking to them about it, but I love that you are totally fine with it. You are a great brother and I love how our relationship has grown.

I am grateful for my mother. She has really struggled with coming to terms with having a gay son. And, although I don’t fully understand why she struggles with it, I know that she still loves me no matter what. She is starting to come around and has been more open to talking with me about it. Asking me questions and discussing it. I sometimes feel a little awkward talking to her about it though because in the back of my head I’m thinking that she has a hard time with my sexuality. I do have to give her credit though for wanting to have a close relationship and really working at it. I love my mother and am grateful for her.

Where do I even begin with you Lisa? I am so grateful for you. You don’t even know how much you have helped me out through my life. Like I mentioned before, when I was growing up were my idol. I looked up to you so much and still do. You never cease to impress me with how caring you are. I don’t really know how to express my next thought very well (and I hope it isn’t taken wrong by others), but I am also grateful that you left the LDS church… I honestly don’t mean it in a I’m glad you don’t believe, but I am grateful for that because I really feel that it helped me be able to come to terms with my sexuality, that I was able to be myself around you and you would still accept me. It has been a long road that I have been on, but if it wasn’t for you, I don’t feel like I would be where I am at today. I will be forever grateful for you and I love you SO much!

Growing up my younger sister, Julie and I, had such a love hate relationship. We loved each other in a your my sibling so I have to love you kind of way, but we fought all the time. We are only 15 months apart and we used to drive each other crazy. When we both hit high school, though, her girl friends and my guy friends started to hang out together. This is when our close relationship started to grow, and it has continued to grow ever since. Julie, you are such an amazing person and I am so grateful for you. To be honest, I was kind of nervous when I came out to you and Gary. I knew how strongly you both still believe in the LDS church and I was worried it would affect our great relationship. Once I did tell you though I couldn’t believe the great response I got from you. I love how open we are with each other and how I can tell you everything and I never ever feel like I will be judged by you. In my eyes, you fully comprehend what religion is all about. I am so grateful for you and for our relationship that we share. I love you more than you know!

I have an amazing family and I grateful for each one of them. I have some amazing cousins that were such a great support as well. Juliana and Ana you both have been so amazing and I love you both so much. I am so grateful for both of you and for our relationship.

Gratitude

Before I continue in my pursuit in taking off my mask I wanted to write about all the people that I am grateful for. I just feel like I should personally thank everyone how has made such an impact in my life.

I wanted to thank all my friends for their love and support. Coming out to you all went so much more smoothly than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to Rebecca, Nichole, Kirstie, Jerilyn, Cindi, and so many others for being so great. I LOVE you all for being there. You guys are such amazing friends.

Colleen and Kim, you two have been an amazing support for me at work. You guys are like my second family. I see you both more than I do see my family. I love seeing you 5 days a week and I am so grateful for your support. Thanks SO much!

For me, coming out to my guy friends was always the hardest for me. I was always worried that they would be scared when they found out. I knew lots of men that would make homophobic jokes and make mean comments. I had a roommate that once said, “all gays should be shot.” Comments like this always made me nervous to come out to other males in fear that they might react the same way one of my old roommates reacted. Gratefully, my guy friends have all been pretty amazing. Jason, you were one of the first guys that I told. I am so grateful for you and thanks for being there for me. You’re amazing. Brett, Jordan and Alex, you were also so great. I love that absolutely nothing changed between us when I came out. Thank you for being such amazing friends to me!

Special thanks go out to Kelsey and Jessie! You two have been such an amazing rock for me to rely on. Jessie, whenever I have a bad day you are there to pick me up. I look up to you so much and am incredibly grateful for our friendship! You will forever be my Grace! J Kelsey, you were also such an amazing support for me. When I found out that you were gay as well it was amazing to have someone that knew what it was like to grow up in such a strict religion. I am SO grateful to have another gay friend. I could always turn to you and know that you would be able to understand what I was going through. I can't wait for gay pride!

Thank you all so much. I am so grateful for each and every one of you for all of your love and support. Your friendships mean so much more to me than you guys will know. I am so blessed with such amazing people in my life. I love you all so much.

To be continued….