Are you okay with me being with a guy?

Anonymous

Delhi

I’m 19-years-old and I’m pansexual. I’ve known this for quite some years now, even though I didn’t know the proper term for it then. I’ve had my internal battles, still do sometimes, but I’ve come to accept myself for the most part. For me, gender doesn’t matter. If I like someone, then all that matters is how they are as a person and this is something I came to terms with pretty early.

It was when I was in 12^th grade, about three years ago, that I decided to broach the topic with my mother. We are pretty tight, sharing almost everything with each other. So knowing her, I wasn’t expecting her reaction to be very extreme, but there was a little part of me that was uncertain about the outcome. I told her about a particular video I came across that day about parents disowning their child because he came out to them. I casually asked her right after, “What if your child was gay? What if I liked a girl? Would you be okay with it?” As casual as I tried to be, my palms were sweaty and my heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. She just looked at me for a couple of seemingly ever-lasting seconds and said, “Well, are you okay with me being with a guy? You shouldn’t have to ask if I am okay with it. As long as you are happy, be with whoever you want to be with. You are my baby girl. I love you for who you are, not for who you choose as your life partner.” I couldn’t have been more grateful.

As for my best friend, when I told her, all she said was, “I kinda knew it. More people for you to love, babe.”

Even though I’m all about the drama, my coming out went through pretty drama-free.