Thanks Chris for sharing with us! His post on Outsports is also a great read.
This semester was a great demonstration of what is possible
when you don’t have to hide, when you don’t have to worry what people are saying
when you’re not in the room and when you can be yourself without any
reservations.
I came out in June of 2014: a little bit earlier, in
hindsight, than I was prepared for. I read so many inspiring stories on
outsports.com of athletes from around the country who were, and are, able to
live as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender without having to hide. I felt that
after reading all of these success stories I was also ready to come out. That
is an easy decision to make in theory.
In practice, it’s a whole other story. Nevertheless, I made
the leap and came out and was received by my family, friends and the rest of the
LGBT community with open arms.
This was the first milestone accomplished. The second was
college.
I made my life a whole lot easier by coming out before
college because I had time to get used to being out before thrusting myself in
an environment full of people I had never met and situations I potentially
didn’t know how to handle. I was able to go to school secure in myself as a gay
man.
Now, one semester later, I find myself reflecting on what
has been a wonderful and successful few months.
I have never had a problem with anyone because of my sexual
orientation. The University of Mary Washington is a very liberal and
open-minded campus, and I am grateful for the welcoming community. Being out to
yourself, however, does not necessarily mean you are out to everyone. I was
extremely conscious of the fact that I was out, but that didn’t mean everyone
knew, in fact the opposite was probably true until I or someone else brought it
up in conversation.
Being an athlete on campus has also been worry free. My
place on the school’s swim team has only been a blessing and I’ve made
wonderful friends in whom I can confide anything and with whom I expect to make
many more memories.
I’ve had an extremely successful season so far in the pool,
coming off our big mid-season invitational well-placed nationally to make a
charge for the NCAA championships in March, something a lot of freshmen don’t
experience. Nothing is guaranteed by any means, but this is my goal for the end
of the season.
I came to college not really knowing what to expect, but now
that It’s over, I know that there was nothing to be afraid of. The fact of the
matter is, if you live your life as genuinely as possible, regardless of your
sexual orientation, you will always find your place.
