Rose Perry knows she’s not alone. 

She has an abundance of loving family and friends who adore her to no end. 

But everyday she is constantly swarmed by wandering eyes that seem to judge every person they look at. She always walks by without a care. She continued down the long, rigorous halls letting the people who she passes know she doesn’t care.

Eyes continued to follow, and even some whispers seemed to flow out of these teen’s voices. She didn’t even bat an eye. She’s heard the same comments.

She doesn’t understand why out of all the couples that are constantly sticking their tongues down each other’s throats that she knows she can’t simply hold her future significant other’s hand down the corridor without long, judgemental gazes. In reality though, she knows the correct answer.

She likes females. 

People ask her “How do you know?”

“I always had crushes on girls,” she replies, “I just never realized what they were because nobody in my family talked about being gay.”

Some scoff in disgust. A lot of individuals think it’s unnatural. Rumors spread. She says her parents simply thought it was a phase, and they didn’t believe her. But, she believed in herself, and eventually those who truly loved her came around. 

Regardless of how conservative this area is, she knows there are others who feel the same as she does. There’s a club she relies on, multiple friends who support her, and a family with unconditional love.

She knows that “coming out of the closet” is probably scary and even dangerous for some individuals. She came out with minimal backlash. She says this world is filled with gay people who still get raped, harrassed, and even killed by loving who they want to. 

Her message to those in the LGBT+ community is that they are never alone. And that they’ll never be alone.