I'm mostly Harmless.

[HarmlessEccentric]

Hello.

My introduction varies widely from moment to moment. Please flip a coin to meet me.

[heads]

Hi, I'm HarmlessEccentric! It's taken me a long time to accept it, but God made me a lesbian. Sometimes God gives strange gifts that you didn't know you needed, doesn't s/he? After a dozen years or more of living in denial, I'm accepting God's good gift of gayness, and am just beginning a journey of coming out. I've just begun to come out to my friends. Next I'll talk with my family, and I know that they love me and love God, so I'm confident that they'll rise to the challenge and learn to accept me as the woman God made me. As a public school teacher, I'll have the chance to teach hundreds of students how to respect and like a gay person, and have a hand in changing attitudes and making the world better for all of us. And now that I'm coming out, I'm ready to start dating, and, though I want to take it slowly, I'm looking forward to meeting that special woman who can help me learn if love is as good as the pop songs say it is. Hooray!

[tails]

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I can't avoid dealing with this anymore. I am gay. What the hell am I supposed to do? The friends I came out to- I'm sure they'll get used to the idea, but they stared at me like I'd grown a third eye. My fundamentalist family is going to disown me for sure, and then whose basement will I move in with when the parents at the school demand I be fired? And what reason is there to think that acknowledging my gayness means I'll find someone to share my gayness with? I've got so much psychological baggage attached to my sexuality, it'll need its own room. Who am I to inflict that on someone else? Not that I've met anyone to inflict it on. I am so hosed. I'm going to go hide in my closet for a little while.


Either way, I'm delighted to be here, and have found Soulforce a very useful resource in this exciting/terrifying part of my life.

[Dash]

You sound perfectly balanced to me. hahah!!

You'll be fine, I'm sure!

Welcome, welcome!

Nice pic by the way.

[BruceChris]

If you've been reading us much, you know that we often use abbreviations or nicknames, and you may want to choose yours, before everyone here just starts calling you - "HE" -

I'm sure that it won't be long before many of the regulars of the female persuasion show up to welcome you, and chatting and exchanging energy with them seems to be better than therapy for many of us -- and ya can't beat the price! The more you post, the more you will get out of us.

So, can you tell us a little more about yourself? What size city, what part of the country, what steps can you take to build up your support systems? Cincinnati, Ohio. I shoulda caught that

Can we work on firming up your 'heads' version of things? I think I like that one much better. So, backatcha,

Peace and Love, Chris

[Zerbie]

Well howdy Mz Eccentric!

I enjoyed reading the two flipped sides of your coming out story. Um, YEAH!! It IS like that, isn't it? And then of course, there's me, who never figured out what sexual orientation I have, because after searching my whole life long, I seem to have misplaced it.

Welcome to our big happy off-the-wall family! Come on back and talk to us some more, and let us know how your new online community can help support ya on your journey.

Best.

Zerbie

[Jennifer5]

Welcome HarmlessEccentric!

Yes, please tell us more... and how we could maybe help make this process of coming out a little easier... I think you'll find that this is a great place, as Zerbie put it "our big happy off-the-wall family!", and that's kind of what we are...

Anyway, Glad to have you here!

(Bruce does have a point though... you may want to pick your nickname before you become 'he')

[NathanATX]

Originally Posted by HarmlessEccentric

Hello.

My introduction varies widely from moment to moment. Please flip a coin to meet me.

[heads]

Hi, I'm HarmlessEccentric! It's taken me a long time to accept it, but God made me a lesbian. Sometimes God gives strange gifts that you didn't know you needed, doesn't s/he? After a dozen years or more of living in denial, I'm accepting God's good gift of gayness, and am just beginning a journey of coming out. I've just begun to come out to my friends. Next I'll talk with my family, and I know that they love me and love God, so I'm confident that they'll rise to the challenge and learn to accept me as the woman God made me. As a public school teacher, I'll have the chance to teach hundreds of students how to respect and like a gay person, and have a hand in changing attitudes and making the world better for all of us. And now that I'm coming out, I'm ready to start dating, and, though I want to take it slowly, I'm looking forward to meeting that special woman who can help me learn if love is as good as the pop songs say it is. Hooray!

[tails]

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I can't avoid dealing with this anymore. I am gay. What the hell am I supposed to do? The friends I came out to- I'm sure they'll get used to the idea, but they stared at me like I'd grown a third eye. My fundamentalist family is going to disown me for sure, and then whose basement will I move in with when the parents at the school demand I be fired? And what reason is there to think that acknowledging my gayness means I'll find someone to share my gayness with? I've got so much psychological baggage attached to my sexuality, it'll need its own room. Who am I to inflict that on someone else? Not that I've met anyone to inflict it on. I am so hosed. I'm going to go hide in my closet for a little while.


Either way, I'm delighted to be here, and have found Soulforce a very useful resource in this exciting/terrifying part of my life.

There are tons of gay & lesbian teachers in Austin, TX... most feel safe & supported in their jobs... so there is hope!

[tdogg]

A warm welcome to you Harmless! Congrats on coming out to yourself and your friends. It takes a lot of considering and a bit of courage, doesn't it?!

The SF forum is a wonderful place where you'll find friends, varying dialogue, opinions, advice and lots of great thought-provoking reading. The coming-out journey can be long and difficult, but enjoy it all and seek support when you need it.

I enjoyed your post, and glad that you are here!!!

[nowvoyager]

Hi Harmless, I offer you this round of applause for your courage and bravery in coming out. I read your wonderfully written blog about it, sending that email -- wow. I can only say it will get easier, and then the pleasure of being honest with everyone at last will just warm your spirit, possibly even more than you dreamed.
I add my welcome to you here, its a great place to be, and look forward to reading more from you.

[Lydia]

Welcome, Harmless.

[Vanessa White]

Hello, HarmlessEccentric: I can see both sides of you in your intro. We are a great, off the wall family as Zerbie says, full of quirks, and joys, and failings, and successes, and so much love and beauty that it could go round the world a hundred times. We are such a diverse bunch here that you can get just about anything that you need on any given day. Whether you have to email us from the closet or are marching in a parade loud and proud, we are there for one another on our best and worst days, and every day in between. It took me few days to get to you, I have been away. But, let me say that being a lesbian is something I take great pride and joy in, although there are still days that I get filled with fear and disillusionment- then I come here for relief and release. Check us out all over the forums, and participate as much as you can. You are a welcome addition!!