I knew when I was 12, but I didn't come out until I was 20ish! I kept that part of my life secret until I met a woman I genuinely wanted a relationship with. I rang my mother at 7am with the girl I'd been seeing in my bed, close to tears, and said "Mum, I took a girl home last night." She said "Well, I knew it would be you or your sister." I started crying, kind of out of relief but also disbelief. She laughed and told me to calm down, it was fine, we had plenty of gay family members and one of her kids surely had to be. I was sobbing and shouting "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" She just wouldn't stop laughing at me and I thought for sure she was deflecting or being rude but really, she was just laughing because I was being overly dramatic and she wanted me to HEAR her. I have a lot of feelings. :lol: Aaaanyway, I went over for lunch, elaborated on it, told her about my first experience when I was younger, and she goes "Honey, I know. Look at the boys you've dated. They're all quite feminine." To which I replied "I like pretty faces." We laughed. Ate lunch. And it was like any other day.
I felt confident enough to share it with everyone else after that, so posted a status on my socials which was really basic, just said something along the lines of "So I'm dating a girl. Yes. A girl. She's pretty cute..." Everyone was like duhhhh and I'm like k then. I was absolutely lucky in the fact my friends and family members were accepting. My dad calls me his "Dinky dyke lezbot daughter" affectionately as I roll my eyes, my daughter proudly shows off our family to her friends, my mum rang me for advice when she was questioning her own sexuality, my sister told me the minute she kissed another girl cause she was curious, my Nan is always asking me to bring my partner over for a cuppa tea, and my best friend still gets naked in front of me and asks me to wax her butthole with zero fox. :lol: I feel blessed. I also very much feel for those who haven't had such a positive experience.
I am ALWAYS here as an open mind and listening ear, for anyone who needs it. Sending love and positive vibes to all. ?