b'126springtideresearch.orgI came out as gay a few years ago, and it started off fine. My friends still all liked me, so what else could I ask for? About a year after, I started getting hate from boys in my grade both verbally and virtually. I didnt know what to do with myself, and I didnt know where to go in life. I thought they were talking about me to people and telling people things that werent true. I had no sense of belonging until I found a new group of friends. I felt comfort and a sense of belonging with them, a sense of love. I knew that they were the people who were going to make my high school experience tolerable. To this day, I have stayed friends with them and have done so many more things than I would have with my other group of friends. I knew that I belonged somewhere, that I was loved, and thats what truly matters in life: belonging in a community, especially the LGBTQ+ community.Liam, 15'