Should You Join In National Coming Out Day?
National coming out day is referred to as the day devoted to the GLBTQ community’s day of acceptance. It is officially held on October 11th and it is a day designed to help those who are considering coming out of the closet understand that they are simply not alone. There is community to support them and there are others that are also taking these first important steps.
Why come out at all? Isn’t national coming out day a time for celebration? National coming out day is not (like critics would like to think) a day to encourage “recruitment” or other absurd ideas relating to joining the gay community. It is a day to allow the gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning individuals of the world to find their own voice and make their own declarations regarding their own identity.
You don’t have to come out if you don’t want to, as there is no pressure by the community to do so. This is about you. This is about your ability to claim your life as your own. When you lie, sneak around, of fear being seen with someone in public (or even avoid dating altogether) you are denying yourself a chance for happiness. You are the only person that needs to be comfortable with whom you are.
Instead, national coming out day gives you a milestone to consider. If you are getting sick of denying the truth to yourself, you might find it helpful to have a calendar date that signifies others who will also be coming out. This is a day when you will find that help lines and support groups are more readily available, especially as the day becomes more recognized.
There is no reason that you have to hide behind a façade any longer. Every time you make an excuse, avoid the truth, or have to work exceptionally hard to make sure your family never finds out about your lover you are telling yourself that there is something wrong with you. National coming out day is a day to embrace who you are, learn a little something about your community, and of course learn to love and accept yourself for the lifestyle that fits you.
It’s not easy to come out. It can feel like you’re about to walk into the lion’s den with a hunk of raw meat strapped around your neck. No matter what your worst fears may be, coming out gives you something that you just don’t have right now. The sense of self and identity that you get to grow into an eventually even be proud of. It’s more about admitting to yourself that you have nothing to hide, because you don’t.
Staying in the closet is a reinforcement to your own psyche that you are somehow not acceptable as you are. Every day that you live in the closet is another day that you are still trying to change or punish yourself for who you are. Look around. You are far from alone. All over the world national coming out day is leading to a greater push toward gay rights and gay equality.
