No one really prepared me for the unforeseen hardships and heartbreaks that can come with living a queer life.

I was prepared for some of the basics—the questions, the coming out, the possibility of rejection, and the uncomfortable conversations. I thought I understood what it meant to step into a world where being fully myself might come with challenges.

But what I wasn’t prepared for was the world I actually live in.

I wasn’t prepared for the friendships that would change, the relationships that would break my heart, the people I would lose, or the moments when simply being myself could feel like an act of courage. I wasn’t prepared for the loneliness that can exist even when you’re surrounded by people who love you. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for how much strength it would take to keep choosing myself when the world some ...