Personal Narrative: Homophobia In High School

Our school didn't have a GSA for about three years until now. When I was a ninth grader I was very sure of my sexuality. But the thing was that the school I went to wasn't very friendly when it came to LGBTQ+ people. The administration were fine, the issues usually came from the student body. I was surrounded by homophobia, and I had not one safe place to allow myself to be me. I wasn’t allowed to be as open as I wanted to be but eventually I thickened my skin and came out. Looking back at that time I really wished I had a safe place, a place where I did not feel oppressed. So senior year the original advisor for our school GSA came back. It was time to make that safe space I had so needed back at the beginning of my high school experience. So along with a few other LGTBTQ+ allies and family we breathed new life in our GSA. We had decided that it was time to hold elections because when it first began out club had no executive cabinet. So since we only had a handful of members, I’d volunteered to be president and since we had no objections and no opposing party I was voted in. We now had a full executive cabinet. So I started advocating for our club in my classes since everyone knew me and all that. And we’ve now added about two more members another gay teen and a lesbian.