High school is complex as it is, with cruel teachers that assign enough homework to assure that you definitely won't be going out this weekend, waking up early and having little to no sleep, unnecessary and petty drama, and lets not forget that weird smell only high schools have (you know the one). But during high school, many of us discover who we are and what we truly love to do. We also figure out who we are capable of loving. Coming out is no easy task for those of us in high school that may be met with crude remarks or unaccepting peers. Here are the coming out experiences of 5 high school students:

1. When did you realize that you may not be straight?

Student 1: I realized I wasn't straight when a friend of mine, that was a girl, confessed to liking me and I realized, "Oh wait, you're pretty cute!" and the feelings spiraled from there and I eventually opened the door to appreciating and liking girls as well.

Student 2:I first came to terms of my bisexuality around the 7th grade, but realized that some acts I've done in my childhood could be labeled as homosexual. But I was a child so maybe it was just curiosity then.

Student 3:I realized I wasn't straight in maybe 6th or 7th grade. It was really emotional for me and I beat myself up a lot because I was raised to believe that there was only straight and that anything other than that was people trying to get attention.

Student 4: When I started liking a girl in eighth grade.

Student 5: In 9th grade, after quite few months of trying to find myself and denying my bisexuality as a whole. I realized I wasn't always 100% joking about thinking a girl was super cute. It was more than just admiring how pretty a girl was. My current best friend showed me that it's okay to not be straight.

2. What feelings did you have about gay people and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole before coming out?

Student 1: I was an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+ community before I realized I was anything but straight.

Student 2: I highly support gay people and the LGBTQ+ community now, but before I came to terms with my bisexuality, I had some pretty odd feelings about the community, because I was raised in a way where that was seen as not normal.

Student 3: I went through a super bad phase from birth to 9 years old where I was extremely homophobic. I actually used to use those phrases like "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," but now I can see that I was just trying to mask it from myself. When I got into middle school and met my old best friend, we started venturing out more and accepting more people, so I became a tiny bit more supportive.

Student 4: I completely supported the community and was a prominent ally.

Student 5: It wasn't that I didn't support the community, I never understood what gay people were or the struggles they go through and even though I originally labeled it "kind of weird", I was never super homophobic,

3. Who was the first person you told and why?

Student 1: The first person I told was my best friend Katie, because she had constantly been there for me in the emotional process of discovering my sexuality.

Student 2: The first people I told was my best friend and my ex-girlfriend in 7th grade because I trusted them, and I knew they wouldn't judge me for who I am.

Student 3: The first person I told was my old best friend. I honestly don't know why I told her. We were up really late one night and my brain was foggy and I just started crying and asking her if it was okay to have a best friend who wasn't straight. I told her I was bisexual because I wasn't educated on pansexuality or anything, but she did help me though and was really supportive of me. She told me what pansexuality was and I identify more with that and I'm much happier being settled in on a definite sexuality than being confused!

Student 4: I told my best friend because I felt like it was important for me to tell someone.

Student 5: I told my best friend, because she was the one who introduced me to the LGBT+ community.

4. What was/is it like not being able to come out to your friends and/or family?

Student 1: It was pretty tough. I had wanted to come out to one of my best friends for a long time, but I had waited a year in belief that she was homophobic, and it felt like I had to disguise myself from her. It was the same way for my parents; I had felt the need to hide who I truly was, and that was very painful because of my close relationship with them. When I finally did come out, it was both a relief and a pain, because while my friend had fully accepted me, my relationship with my mother had been broken and will remain like that forever.

Student 2: I eventually became openly bisexual to my friends, but to my family, I will never open up to, because my older brother, who came out to my parents as gay, was shunned for a bit, but now my parents tolerate homosexuality, but do not fully accept it. So I chose to stay in the closet to them, but out to others.

Student 3: My parents don't know. It's pretty rough because my mom is a die hard Christian and my dad doesn't believe in anything other than straight and gay and he's stubborn as hell. He won't listen or even consider anything when I bring up (regarding other people), so that felt pretty bad. But I'm out to my biological mother- I'm adopted and we still talk- and she's extremely supportive and understands. It's not like telling family or anything because we're not that close but yeah, it's a great feeling to know others that accept you. Luckily, all the friends I've chose to tell are extremely supportive and I love 'em all!!

Student 4: It was horrible. When I came out as pansexual and afterwards, my family totally disregarded it and still do. It's terrible when they don't even acknowledge that for example, you might have a wife or just someone other than a man to be married to.

Student 5: I came out to three of my four closest friends and they all congratulated me and said "I knew it". My fourth friend I did not come out to myself, my other guy friend told her before I could. I've known that friend for nearly 10 years but she comes from a somewhat religious background and I was afraid she would be unaccepting of me, tell my parents, or that our relationship would never be the same again. Thankfully, my fears didn't come true. I will never be able to tell my parents, they are unaccepting of gay people and would kick me out of the house or maybe do something worse.

5. The worst reaction someone has had to finding out about your sexuality or your worst moment as a LGBTQ+ member?

Student 1: The worst reaction I've had was from my mother, she claimed a lot of damaging things that hurt me permanently, such as denying my sexuality, and claiming that I was going to sleep with my friends, etc.

Student 2: Hearing this: "Really? That's weird. I thought you were straight." And I still get emotionally hurt from all the times the LGBTQ+ members get physically/emotionally hurt in public for being who they are.

Student 3: The worst reaction was probably when I told one of my friends and she low key bullied me for it. She said that I couldn't just be partly out and that I had to be fully out or else I was faking it. It honestly made me feel like I wasn't part of the straight or LGBT community. Like somewhere in between.

Student 4: Thankfully, I haven't had terrible experiences (other than with parents, previously mentioned) but an uncomfortable experience I had was when I told my friend and he outed another pansexual person that I didn't know if they were okay with being out.

Student 5: I've had two bad experiences. The first one was when I was hanging out with my friend and her friend started to say rude things about bisexual people. Things like, "At least gay people have the decency to pick a side" and "Bisexual people just want to have sex with everyone" The worst part was that my friend didn't really try to defend me. The Orlando Shooting Incident was even more horrific for me. I'm Muslim and I could see people and the media trying to tear both the communities apart.

6. Has religion ever played a factor in your experiences or impacted your decision to come out?

Student 1: Yes it has! My extended family is very Christian and homophobic, and that has definitely prevented me from coming out fully.

Student 2: Yes and no. Growing up as a Catholic, there were many instances where I was told being homosexual is a sin, but other Catholics say that God created you the way he wants you to be and that it is perfectly fine to be a homosexual. I was hesitant on coming out because of those factors. Believing whether homosexuality was a sin or not according to my religion.

Student 3: No, I'm not religious.

Student 4: Nope, I was always an unreligious person and I now identify as an atheist.

Student 5: It's kept me from being able to come out to some friends and my family.

7. One common misconception people have about your sexuality that you'd like to address?

Student 1: As a pansexual, people often think that I like to have sex with kitchenware. But besides that, people think it is the same as bisexuality. It is a completely different sexuality!

Student 2: A common misconception would be some guy friends thinking that I would go for/target them as a love interest.

Student 3: People often don't understand the difference between pansexuality and bisexuality. Bisexuality is liking both female and male genders, whereas pansexuality is not really caring about what gender the person is. I like attracted to nonbinary, trans people as well as male and female. Also, I do not fuck pans.

Student 4: I usually have to explain to people what is gender and the gender spectrum in a hyper-simplified way.

Student 5: No, I can't just chose a side nor do I wanna have sex with everyone.

8. Any advice you have to those who are still unsure of their sexuality or aren't able to come out yet?

Student 1: There is no rush, absolutely none. You have all the time in the world to discover your sexuality and it shouldn't be something you are stressing about. Sexuality is a very large spectrum and it might just take a little digging to find a label you can identify with, or you can go without a label (I did it for awhile too!). Don't stress it!

Student 2: Be free, you're who you are and there's no one else in this world that can fill your spot.

Student 3: Don't rush yourself to come out!! It's completely okay to only tell trusted individuals!! Also don't worry if you haven't gotten a stable idea of what your sexuality is because in the end, a label doesn't really matter as long as you're happy :)

Student 4: It's extremely hard not to think about it or label yourself, but it's okay if you do as well as it's also well if you don't. I was fixated on finding a label and that's okay because i like defining myself. Not all people are comfortable with not having a label and following their minds so sometimes labels are okay. Finding yourself without one is also just as okay. There are thousands of people that care about your story and have been through what you're going through and are going to help you when you need them and reach out.

Student 5: Not coming out doesn't make you any less valid, Not everyone is comfortable with coming our and that's okay and there's no pressure to come out.