One of the ways I wanted to embrace my sexuality, besides buying jewelry and flags, was to go to a gay bar. One of the gay bars I wanted to go to was The Stonewall Inn after I left work for the day.
I honestly went there to get a few drinks and meet a woman I can meet and be with. I ended up stepping out of my comfort zone and did something I didn't expect to do.
When I first walked in, the first floor was crowded to the point where I couldn't sit down at the bar, and order a drink. There was a pool table sitting across the bar, rainbow flags hanging around the bar, and some of the merchandise they were selling was hanging up behind the bar. Then, I proceeded to go up the stairs to the second floor to see what it looked like.
When I got to the second floor, it was pretty much empty. I sat at the bar and got myself a drink. A few seconds later, I spoke to some people who became my friends. One of the people I met automatically knew I was bisexual (at the time), after I told her. Another person sat next to me and started a conversation with me.
It was then, that the person I spoke with, said that it was Karaoke Night at the bar. I immediately felt butterflies in my stomach because I knew what was going to happen next. The person encouraged me to do something I never did before: sing a song in front of a group of people.
I was hesitant to do it at first, then I began to change my mind after I bought another drink, and received more encouragement from my friends. When I finally decided to go up and sing, they cheered. When it was my turn to sing, I was joined by my new friends to help me sing the song (which was Roar by Katy Perry).
First time I got up and heard the music play, I realized that the DJ didn't have the lyrics to the song. So, I told the DJ to let someone go in front of me and sing until I found lyrics to the song. When I finally found the lyrics, I got back up and started singing the songs with the lyrics I pulled up on my phone.
As I was singing, I noticed people were singing with me, and some were dancing in their seats as they were drinking. It made me feel good seeing that I wasn't being judged as I was singing, and that people didn't care. After I finished singing Roar, people cheered and clapped for me, and one of the people I met bought me two drinks before I left to go home. I had a fun time being at the Stonewall Inn that night, and I made a decision to go back again soon to meet new people to be friends with.
That night taught me a valuable lesson about myself: If I wanted to make my life interesting and fun, I was the only person to do it. Stepping out of my comfort zone (and singing that night) helped me make new friends, have fun, and not care what people thought about me.
