September 8, 2020

Words by Amari Ice

I came out to my mom when I was 12 years old. Right before I told her, I packed my backpack full of clothes just in case my parents kicked me out like the stories I saw on the news. Terrified and half trembling on the inside, I walked into her room and said, “Mom, I have something to tell you…I’m gay.”

She told me I didn’t know what I was talking about (when I tell you she PAID IT, I mean IN FULL!). So I said “OK,” shrugged my shoulders and left her room. Life went on like the conversation never happened…which means I had to come out again at 14 LOL. She finally saw and heard me this time and accepted my truth. Then she told me I would always be her baby and that she loved me.

Looking back I can’t believe how courageous I was to be prepared to get kicked out of my home and lose my family for living authentically—for staying in integrity with my truth. And the shade is, I hadn’t even lost my virginity yet (that didn’t happen until I was 19, but I digress). The good news is she accepted it. Later I told my Dad and Grandparents who all eventually accepted it as well, but my mom was the hardest person to tell.

There is no right or wrong way or time to let others into your life. We aren’t always in spaces safe enough to share our truth with others. And we don’t all come from families who accept us. But what matters most is the decision to at least be our own safe spaces; to radically accept our own truths and love ourselves unconditionally even when others may be unequipped or unable.

Love is always the answer, especially for yourself. ️

Amari Ice, MBA
Love Coach + Matchmaker + Hypnotist
#1 Best-Selling Author of Lasting Love at Last: The Gay Guide to Attracting the Relationship of Your Dreams

Website: www.amarimeanslove.com
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