@ASilentObserver
For me, there are people where I feel truly myself and can share my identity. There are others I feel I cannot. Especially in my current journey into a profession that is highly scrutinized by their peers, I really have to flip an on and off switch of who I am at times. I usually tell people that I don't discuss relationships, and that gets them to not ask any further. There are times where someone asks about my partner and we are in a more open community, so I gladly talk about her. In others, I lie and say I am single. It eats at me, but my partner is in a similar situation as well. I'm glad that we don't feel any animosity towards each other about it since we both have to do this odd balance based on where we live and work. The issue comes when I can't remember who I have said things to. Slowly, I am realizing that no matter what I do someone could dislike me or reject me. At the end of the day, that's not someone I want to be around anyways, so I have felt a bit more open and just shared that I have an LGBTQ+ relationship. This can be dangerous, so I am not going to gloss over that aspect especially for where I live. But at the end of the day, I was born who I am, and if you are religious and struggling with that aspect, then just know we each have our own paths to navigate. I choose to be with someone that loves and supports me more than anyone else I have ever met. For living in a religious area, I was always told to interpret texts for myself, and this has helped me with the stress of "right or wrong." For me, someone came into my life that helps me be a better person, and I don't think I deserve to be treated as a lesser person for who that individual happens to be. There are many identities that we navigate aside from just this one, and I find more difficulty in those others personally. If anyone reads this from a rural place like me and also struggles, just know you are not alone in this world.