A CHOSEN FAMILY

When you need them most, friends step into new roles.

hen I came out to my parents 10 years ago, they weren’t supportive or open to my sexuality. Ever since then, ours has been an, my friends threw one for me. Whether it was helping to create our family manifesto or baking our wedding cake, my friends did things I would have never even asked of them. And when they weren’t doing that, they were simply showing up for us both, all because I’d been open and honest. I allowed my friends the opportunity to step up, and they did—as not only a community, but my chosen family.