#5 How do you know if your gay?

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be talking about quite an interesting topic. It is a kind of sequel to my last post but you do not have to read that one first if you don't want to. Also, a little disclaimer as I am a girl who likes girls I will be saying girls but I'm pretty sure this can relate to other orientations as well. Okay, I don't know how long this post will be so you've been warned. Sorry!

So how do you know if your gay? Honestly, there is no simple book that holds the answer. I wish there was though. That would be awesome. I know there are all those quizzes and videos online where you tick off loads of things and allegedly "verify" how gay you are but I don't really believe in them. Basically, everyone has a different experience some people are certain from a really young age and other people do take some more time to figure it out. Here, by far the most important thing to remember is that NO persons experience is wrong, makes you  less of an individual or makes you a bad person. I don't care if you don't even finish this post but please just hold on to that fact.

I definitely did not know I was gay from an extremely young age but I realized when I was about 11. I am lucky enough to have a family who are in no way discriminatory but I also grew up thinking it wasn't normal. I kind of made myself crush on my best friend because it was kind of awkward at school when everyone was talking about there crushes but this was mostly because I wasn't entirely sure there was another route to take.

On to the main question of the post - How do you know if your gay? At school, people always talk about how they kissed a girl or something else along those lines and wondering if that meant they were gay (someone was also telling their friend that they couldn't be a lesbian because they were to girly. Well I'm probably one the most girly girls you'll ever meet but that's another story). The answer to that question is maybe. Also you may never had kissed a girl or been attracted to a best friend and just feeling like they might be gay. It really does just come down to self exploration and figuring out what you feel comfortable with.

 Make sure you be kind and have patience with yourself because life really is hard work. I know that sounds so exhausting but there are so many amazing moments in life and there are also some really crappy moments but that's just a part of the roller coaster. One thing I personally think we should all consider everyday is no matter how old we are to believe in yourself and I get that is sounds sappy and cringey but it's true. When it comes to sexuality, if you want to kiss, hold hands with, snuggle with, cuddle with or whatever with another girl and they are in for it too, go for it.

Don't put pressure on yourself to have this label. On one hand, labels can be great because they do help us identify, navigate and understand the world but they can also be really harmful, especially when they are being placed on us by other people. Sometimes we give ourselves labels and later on we decide this isn't who we are anymore and you want to get rid of or release yourself from it. If there are words or one word that feels good to you right now go with that. That's cool. And if not - that's cool too. It is definitely okay for any or all of this to change. You need to know that you are not forever tied to the things you choose now. You might find a label that feels good to you and you stick with forever but you shouldn't feel pressured to keep it forever. To quote Peter Pan, forever is an awfully long time.

That is pretty much it for this pretty long post. I hope you found at least something either helpful or interesting. Even something tiny.

Thanks for reading,
Fifi