I remember running into one of my now best friends at a Halloween party almost a year and a half ago. I was walking through the kitchen to get a drink for a friend when he stopped me, recognizing me from lab. Fast forward to months later, and I would now not dare go to a party without him. He's my right hand and my go-to for just about everything, and I love him for more than the fact that he can paint my nails better than I can. Both of us get asked a lot if we're dating because we're together so much, but it's a question both he and I laugh at. I hate the term "gay best friend," but I find myself using it more than I would like to just so that people stop automatically assuming we're dating. As a single straight female, I find myself setting the record straight about the two of us despite the fact that when someone sees us together, we're usually gossiping about boys. (That or how excited we are to go to Beyonce's concert together.)
I am so #BLESSED to have a best friend that looks out for me the way that you do. You are the Titus Andromedon to my Kimmy Schmidt, and honestly, if you wanted to recreate "Pinot Noir," I would be 1000 percent behind you. I only hope that I can and have given you the friendship that you have given me. I could say things like you’re special and fabulous, but you already know that. I hope you also know that I am proud of you, for being true to who you are no matter all the pressures that ask you not to be. I am so proud to call you my best friend.
You are so much more than what movies ever depict as a stereotypical "gay best friend." We don’t just help each other shop, paint nails, and tell each other which boys are cute enough for one another. You show me an unconditional love that I feel is so much harder for you to come by in your lifetime than it is for me. That's the part that the movies get wrong, and I'm sorry for it. They skip the struggles that you have faced.
There are plenty of people who come out to parents and friends and are received with open arms. But there are still a sad amount of times where this is not the case. You know a struggle that I will never know, never be able to comprehend. The difficulties of coming out to friends and family aren't a one-time event -- you have to come out over and over again, and sometimes you are met with a less than positive reception. I'm sorry that you have to go through that, but I am sorry for those people that choose ignorance or blind devotion to a religion over a living, breathing, loving human being standing in front of them. It's them I'm truly sorry for -- they are the ones missing out. Your brilliance and strength make you a wonder for anyone to come across, and it will always blow my mind that people will choose to discriminate against you because of who and how you love. They will choose, but no matter their choice, I will always be proudly standing by you. That is my choice.
The boy in the plaid, though? Yes, you should totally go buy him a drink. He can be your choice.
xo, Kimmy
