Did you wait to come out on campus and join the LGBT engineering student organization until you came out to more of your friends and family?

 - I wanted to come out to the people that were important to me before I joined any organization, yes. That is just how the process evolved in my head, but there is no reason I wouldn't have joined it before I came out.

How did you feel once you were more out?

 - I didn't know how freeing coming out would be. It's as though my soul is lighter and happier. Before I came out, I didn't feel depressed or oppressed, but as it turns out, it is taxing on someone's mind to keep up a lie for so long. 

Did you have any boyfriends before you came out? If so, did not being out affect those relationships?

 - I had one boyfriend back in high school, but it was short and casual. He didn't like that I hadn't come out, and that likely contributed to us breaking up. I also had another boyfriend my sophomore year of college, before I was fully out. But me being out of the closet didn't affect that relationship, probably because I was working on coming out during that time. 

Were their any conflicts with close friends or family about your sexual orientation?

 - I am extremely lucky, possibly the luckiest on Earth. I have no family or friends that have brought up any conflict with my sexuality. Not only that, but I have never met any strangers in public either. I have walked around cities holding hands with guys, and worked at public events for the LGBT community, and have only ever had people be nice to me. But I understand that is not true for everyone. 

To your last point, I totally agree. Like I mentioned above, even when I knew I was gay, I never thought being gay was going to be an important part of my identity. I always thought that being an engineer and a musician and stuff would far outweigh it. But now being gay is something that brings me happiness daily!