1. Call it mother's intuition

"I always knew I was attracted to girls. After all, playing 'naked doctor' with a close friend in elementary school gave me a total chick boner. I didn't come to terms with my bisexuality until I was 14 or 15. When I was about to come out, I was pretty scared. My mom was raised in the Pentecostal tradition, but she was also my best friend, so I figured it could either go horribly wrong or amazingly right. So when I was around 16 or 17, my then-girlfriend and I decided to come out to my mom together, stating we were actually girlfriends and not just girl friends. My mom's reply was 'I know.' She went on to say that it didn't matter who I was with. If I was happy, she was happy."

2. Home away from home

"I was so terrified of being gay, but after falling in love with my best friend and having my heart crushed, I moved to Buenos Aires for a few months for some fresh air. Within the first week, a group of girls I had met were standing around having a conversation that was like 'I wish gay people didn't feel like they have to be in the closet. Most of the time we know they are gay anyways, so they should just come out—we will be supportive!' And I found myself uttering, 'you guys, I've never told anyone this, but I'm gay' and they were all like, 'Whoa. We seriously weren't talking about you, but that is awesome.' My life has been a lot better since I embraced who I was. It took flying halfway around the world to give me the courage to be myself."

3. "Hot dogs or hamburgers?"

"I recently told my mother I was a lesbian and her response was the most majestic thing I have ever heard. I was crying when she entered my room and asked if I wanted to eat hot dogs or hamburgers for dinner that night. She had then noticed me crying and I told her I was fine. I wiped my tears and looked up at her and told her that I liked girls and I was a lesbian.

My mother blinked, paused for a moment, and said, 'so you can't have hot dogs because they remind you of penises?'

We had hamburgers that night."

4. Faith in all kinds of love

"I've been attracted to girls since I was about 14. Since I grew up in a very religious environment, I had indirectly been told to suppress those feelings my entire life. But as much as I tried to 'pray the gay away,' my attraction towards women didn't leave... Just the other day, I was talking to my dad on the phone. He delicately said, 'I know you are trying to find someone to love you and to love. I just want you to know that if you choose to be with a woman, I would be more than willing to have another daughter in my family to love… Everyone needs someone to love and share life with.'"

5. Mom's favorite 

"When I was 16, my mom and I were sitting on the couch watching 'The Ellen Show' when she said, 'oh, look, my favorite lesbian.' I just looked at her and said, 'I thought I was your favorite lesbian.' She just stared at me for a moment and then responded with, 'oh, okay.'

We just continued to watch the show after that. And that's how I came out to my mother."

6. A coming-out cookout

"My dad was outside grilling chicken for dinner one night and I was sitting there, just watching him, when I said, 'Dad, I like girls, too.' He goes, 'seriously?' and I said, 'yep, have ever since the hormones kicked in.' He just looked at me and said, 'figures. But the 'no sex in the backseat of your car' rule still applies.' I responded with, 'okay,' and he turned back to the grill and asked me if I thought he should add more barbecue sauce."

7. More than best friends

"When I came out to my best friend, she kissed me. Hard and passionate, like she never wanted to let me go. There were tears in her eyes when she pulled away and confessed that she'd been in love with me for years. I was so shocked, but so happy that I too began to cry, and we held each other for a while. We've been together since."

8. Change in the best way

"Initially, my parents flipped out. I was told it was a phase, that I was too young, that I had no idea what I was talking about, and it really hurt. But we've talked so much more in the past few months, and my mom is really trying to understand. We've been to an LGBT+ event together, she started letting me go to LGBTQ meetings, and has even considered letting me cut my hair like I want to. When I first came out, I truly regretted it—but I don't anymore."

9. True friendship

"When I came out as biromantic to one of my best friends, I asked her, 'on a scale from 1-10 how much can I trust you?' She said 11. I started to tell her by saying, 'I have to tell you something,' but then I got scared. I had written it down because I knew this would happen. On a little piece of paper, I wrote the word 'biromantic,' its meaning, and said that that's what I was. She read it through twice and asked if I was for real. I answered yes and then she gave me a hug and told me she still loves me. I asked her why and she said, 'friends aren't called friends for nothing.'"

10. A mother's unconditional love

"I was rather calm when I decided to come out to my mom. I already came out to my friends at that point; it was just my family I hadn't told yet. During pride month, my straight friends were very supportive and suggested that we go to the upcoming pride parade. I agreed, but I lied to my mother and told her that I was heading over to my friend's place. But my mom follows one of my family friends on social media, so when he uploaded a group photo from the parade that I was in, she ended up seeing everything. My mom got upset, but was clear that it was because I felt like I had to lie to her, not because I later told her I was lesbian. She said, 'you're my daughter and you never have to be afraid to talk to me. I love you.'"

11. Feeling ready

"When I came out as a lesbian, my mom was accepting, but she didn't really believe me because she said, at 14, I was 'too young.' She's been much more accepting over the past year, though. My dad was completely supportive from the start and told me he even considered himself bicurious. I'm probably going to come out to some of my extended (homophobic) family soon. I'm tired of hiding it from them and can't stand being in the closet any longer. I'm ready to be true to who I am."

12. Fries (and girls, and guys)

"When I came out to my roommates, I asked them if they knew anyone who was homophobic. I knew they weren't, but I just wanted to steer the conversation in that direction so it wouldn't be so random when I finally told them. They said no and asked me if I knew anyone who was and I said, 'I hope not because I'm bi.' I must've caught them off-guard or said it super quietly because they asked me again, so I repeated myself. They just said, 'oh, okay. That's cool,' and proceeded to talk about why McDonald's fries are the best."

13. Not alone

"Coincidentally, when I came out to my best friend, she came out to me, too. We were texting back and forth, and she told me that she had something to tell me, but was afraid that I'd hate her. She said, 'I think I may be bisexual, meaning I like boys and girls.' I texted her back, saying, "me too."

14. Owning your story

"I came out on my Snapchat story for National Coming Out Day, and I only thought my friends would see my post. Turns out, I forgot to block my cousin from seeing it, and she found out. I told her not to tell anyone in my family, and I was extremely shocked and surprised at her acceptance for me since she's Catholic and I thought all Catholics condemned homosexuality. She told me that if I wasn't ready to tell my family, I should just take it off my story because 'social media travels fast.' I have no idea how many friends saw the post before I took it down, but I'm ready to come out again if I need to."

15. Literally leaving the closet

"My best friend and I were finishing up our homework in the closet of the science lab at school. Halfway through class, our teacher saw where we were and yelled, 'come out of the closet.' I promptly turned to my friend and whispered, "I'm gay." She laughed until she realized I was serious, then smiled and gave me a thumbs up. She's been so supportive ever since."