The LGBTQ+ Center

I went to the LGBTQ+ youth center for the first time.

For a year 

I stared at the website, 

wanting nothing more than to go.

When I finally went, on a Wednesday,

I clung to the side of the only person I knew like a barnacle. 

But there,

sitting in a room where I don't feel like the odd one out,

sitting in a room where I don't feel the urge to hide my identity 

and tuck into my shell 

like a turtle,

sitting in a room where people don't look at me weird when I say who I am,

sitting in a room where others don't refer to me using the language 

that make me feel uncomfortable in my own skin,

sitting in a room where people listen,

was the best thing in the world.

Sure I didn't say much, 

but no one seemed judgmental.

I am anxious at the thought of 

meeting new people,

talking to new people,

trying to make friends.

But I went.

And I regret nothing.