Coming Out?

I'm sure as you're reading this you are very aware of the fact that coming out can be a very difficult time for some, while others just seem to take it all in their stride (or so it seems).
We live in a society where heterosexuality is accepted as the 'norm' and anything other than this is considered deviant, immoral and dirty. So it's no wonder really that we have such a hard time coming to terms with our non-heterosexual persuasion.
There are no hard and fast rules about coming out. Every person who comes out will have a different story to tell, whether it be good bad or indifferent. Below are a few points to take into consideration when thinking about coming out.
Being straight is not 'normal', it's just common
Coming out to yourself and accepting it is the most important thing. Once you have accepted yourself you can then start to think about coming out to others (if you wish to do so)
You don't have to come out-when is the last time you heard a straight person disclosing their sexual orientation to you? The question 'Why didn't you tell me you were lesbian/gay/bisexual?' is crying out for a 'Why didn't you tell me you were straight?' retort.
If you do come out
Don't expect everyone to freak out about it
Don't expect everyone you tell not to freak out about it
You can choose who to tell and who not to tell. However… you have no control over that information after you have given it to someone else. Some people you tell may well tell others who you don't particularly want to know.
Resist brining the topic of sexual orientation into every conversation you have. Like everything else, people will get fed up listening to you going on about it all the time. It's not that they are being homophobic or don't accept you, maybe they're just bored listening to the same old topic of conversation.
That's not to say that you shouldn't talk about it. This is something you've probably been dealing with by yourself for a while and you really need to talk to someone about it. But take it gradually and by doing this you are also giving the people you have come out to time to adjust and accept it all. You could also consider speaking to the student counselor, welfare officer or LGB officer in your Students' Union about coming out and the issues you are having.
Just because you best mate of 10 years doesn't have a pre-prepared speech on how he/she accepts you for being you, and your sexual orientation won't affect your friendship, doesn't mean that; A) They're homophobic B) That they're going to tell everyone else C) That they're never going to speak to you again.
The thing is, others sometimes need time to take it all in. Being told your best mate is gay can come as quite a shock to some people and that doesn't necessarily mean anything negative. You could maybe try explaining that you know it may take them a while to get their head around it all.