I went home over this past weekend because of some personal issues that I felt I needed my family for, I will not go further into it, but I will say that it actually helped me out with this project as well. I went to see a former English teacher of mine on Friday (Oct. 3rd) seeing as we have been friends since I graduated. I went there for comfort, but was actually given something more. I had student taught with her last May for a practicum and one of the young women that had inspired me to take on this topic was in her class again. I ended up doing an impromptu interview with her and this is what went down:
Me: What was the biggest challenge of “coming out?”
Sara*: My family. They didn’t, like, you know, understand why or how it happened.
Me: Were they angry with you?
Sara: Not really angry, more like disappointed. My dad still kind of doesn’t believe it, even though Tina* lives with us now.
Me: May I ask why she lives with you?
Sara: Oh yeah, Tina’s parents are really religious. They got real mad. They ended up kickin’ her out and now she stays with me and my famiy.
Me: How did your friends react?
Sara: I was mad. Some of my friends thought I was joking until they saw Tina and me together. But whatever. They got upset and told me I was going to hell. I don’t care about them anymore.
Me: So how long have you and Tina been together?
Sara: Uummmm, about 10 months now. We’re happy. And that’s all I care about, everyone else don’t matter.
*Names were changed in the interest of privacy.
I was very impressed with Sara’s outlook on the whole subject. She seemed very secure with herself and with talking about it. I could tell she truly was hurt by those that had rejected her “coming out” and seems to resent her father still a bit. Hearing about this from her point of view, however, was the real learning experience for me.
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