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To those who already knows. I’ve been finding the courage to come out to my workmates now. When I first started working at Michelin, seven years ago, I felt that it was a homophobic environment—one where masculinity seemed to be the norm. So I didn’t feel safe telling people in my life that I was gay. And I suppose back then, I was still trying to find myself, still trying to figure out who I was. I was still pretty new to the dating scene as well. Skip forward to today, and I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin. I feel confident in my ability to manage my emotions, and to have a sense of freedom. I first came out to this new guy called Dylan in December of last year. And I felt such a relief—because I was able to talk to him about my dating experience, which was something I couldn’t really share with anyone at work before, where I kept things fairly professional. And when I was trying to figure out if Paul was gay or not, I came out to Jordan as well. Since then, I came out to Paul, Michael, Eddie, and Darren. A lot of people suspected I was gay, so coming out to them wasn’t too much of a surprise— except for Eddie, who, surprisingly, never suspected it, not even in a million years. It’s been quite fun, actually—coming out to people one-on-one. I found tiny moments when we would work together, and it would feel like the right time to share. And everyone’s been quite supportive. There are still a few more people at work that I need to find the right moment with before I leave, but I trust in the universe, and in myself, that those moments will come. And so far, for the people I have told, it’s felt like such a relief. Because now I can talk to them about my dating life, or even make a gay joke, and it’ll be all right. Even when we have people from head office coming down for a factory tour, I can now go up to some of my workmates and tell them that I think this person, or that one, is hot— and we’ll all laugh about it. Ultimately though, I do want to come out to my mum. I think she already knows—that motherly feeling, you know?— and she’s just waiting for me to tell her. But to be honest, I’m still a little scared. Not because I’m afraid of abandonment or anything like that. It’s just that I feel like, maybe if I finally let it out, then our interaction would change. And I’m sure it will change, for the better. But still, that feeling lingers. But I feel that moment will come soon, and I’ll have the courage to tell her. And everything will be all right.