So back in 1999, before we all had these wonderful mini-machines called smartphones, there were landline phones. It was through a landline phone that people conducted any kind of social life. They had this awesome three-way calling feature where if you hung out regularly with a group of people and you all had three-way landlines, you could ALL be on your respective landline phones talking to each other at the same time.

It was through this method that I came out to my best friend.

One of the frequent downsides to a landline phone is that ANYBODY in your household can pick up the call and eavesdrop on your phone call.

The phone call I was using to tell my best friend I was a lesbian, was the phone call my mother picked up the line and heard my admission.

It wasn't until a while later that my brother told me he knew I was gay that I found out what my mother had done before telling him. When I asked her if what my brother told me was true, she confirmed it, and added with a sad sigh "I always knew you were meant to be white." I still don't have a reply for that reaction to this day – and this happened 18 years ago.

I didn't get kicked out or assaulted when my family found out I was gay. In the same phone call referenced above, my friend admitted everyone in our circle already knew I was gay, so there was no reason for me to formally come out anyways. Outside of the occasional smart ass remark or dating rejection, my coming out tale is pretty tame and uneventful. A lot of other people are not so lucky.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of people's coming out stories seem to be published around October and November? Well, there's a reason why we do that. October 11th is National Coming Out Day. A day for the LGBTQA+ community uses to come out the closet, retell our own coming out stories, and support those who came out to hostility or who have yet to come out.

Coming Out Day originated after one of the largest LGBTQA+ marches in Washington DC in 1987. Since then, every October-November, there are tons and tons of ways the LGBTQA+ community organizations and individuals celebrate this day. And there are so many ways one can use to this day to come out the closet: articles like this, coming out videos on YouTube, snail mail letters, and parties are just the tip of the iceberg for ideas on how people come out to family, friends, and even coworkers.

I personally encourage everyone in the LGBTQA+ community –whether you're currently out or not– to not be ashamed of you love. Whether you love another man, another woman, a man and a woman, a trans man, a trans woman, a gender queer individual, a non-binary individual, or an asexual person, your love for them is real and as beautiful and valid as the love between a man and a woman.