I'll be the first to tell you, coming out isn't easy. Coming out is a long, difficult process, and it's a highly sensitive topic. Nobody wants to have to come out of the closet. Oftentimes you are met with fear, ignorance, hate, confusion, and a whole lot of questions about a community you are just becoming a part of. Coming out is nerve-wracking, but let me just say, coming out was a rewarding, incredible experience.

I think I knew about my sexuality for a lot longer than I actually knew. The earliest memory I have of awareness about my sexuality was walking home with my lifelong best friend. I had just started watching "A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila" because I thought I was some rebellious thirteen year old who watched MTV late at night while extending the sleep timer on my TV. (Sorry, Mom and Dad!) I was walking home from school one afternoon when I looked at my best friend and said "You know, I think Tila Tequila is really cool. And really pretty. I wish I was bisexual and could date boys and girls." After that small comment, we never really spoke about it again, until I came out.

I had dated boys throughout my formative years. All of these relationships were long-lasting, and I have always been a committed partner. But, something was always, missing. There was some element of, "is that girl just pretty, or do I have a crush on her?" I didn't talk about celebrity girl crushes like my straight friends did. People joked that one of my closest friends and I were lesbian partners because we spent so much time holding hands and being affectionate, even though I always made it clear that I loved my boyfriend at the time.

Going to college was the nail in the straight-girl coffin for me. I went through a very rough break-up my sophomore year, and when I started looking around for someone to talk to, all of the sudden, all these women came to mind as I was thinking about people I was attracted to. There was one in particular that really intrigued me. She was a senior; wise, talented, beautiful, with a dash of adventurism that I was searching for. She was unique, caring, pansexual, and everything that I had been looking for.

The moment after we started talking and becoming close friends, I knew I liked her, which turned my entire world upside down. I wasn't out to anyone, not even myself. I decided that, first things first, I had to come out to my closest friends so they wouldn't be as taken aback when I admitted my new crush. Of course, I was met with love, support, and a little bit of "I'm honestly not surprised."

That was the easy part.

Slowly, I became more and more open with my sexuality, only to a tight-knit group of people that I trusted. When my relationship with my lady crush didn't quite pan out how I wanted to, I looked to Tinder to find someone new, setting my profile to boys and girls, and finally adding "bisexual" to my profile. I didn't want a hook-up, per se, just someone new to talk to that would be open about my sexuality and see where it went from there.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned with these things, right? So, when I started dating my current boyfriend, I took down my Tinder account, and headed home for a weekend to catch up with my parents. I hadn't told them about my sexuality yet, and was trying to plan out the right time and the most delicate way to say what I needed to. But, before I had a chance to put it delicately, I found out that someone, who found my Tinder profile, had outed me to my parents without my consent.

This is any queer person's worst nightmare.

After a lot of damage control, talks with my parents, love, support, and warm hugs, I was finally out.

On National Coming Out Day 2015, I was finally out to the world as the person I really am. Someone who is a loving, committed partner that is attracted to men and women.

Thankfully, I don't believe this has changed anything about me. I'm just a more honest me than I used to be. My boyfriend hasn't stopped loving me through my self-discovery, and now I just have a word to describe to people how I truly feel. And, while I've received some very negative, even threatening, feedback, telling people who I am gets easier every time it comes up.

I am a bisexual woman, and I am proud of who I am. And whatever you identify as, I just hope that you can feel comfortable and proud too. Coming out isn't easy, but I wouldn't be as open and happy as I am now without taking that leap of faith.