Would you consider that your experience was positive or negative overall? Why?

Mostly very positive. I was super in love with my best friend and we dated off and on during and beyond high school. We're still in each other's lives. We also had a fun group of friends who would likely be the queer kids of today. Many of them were gay/bi but most were straight outcast types: skaters, goths, punks, etc. Thank god we got to enjoy our innocent teen subcultures in peace unlike Gen Z.

Do you feel like you missed out on certain things because you were gay or bi? If so, which things?

Yes, I still missed out on a lot and didn't even realize it until much later. I wasn't out to my family or any teachers (or to anyone outside of my friend group) so I had no adults to turn to for support with relationship issues. Not being able to talk to my parents about what, to me, was the most important thing in my life at the time made me feel resentful and alienated to a degree that I stopped discussing anything significant with them. I ended up doing a lot of unwise shit that I think could have been mitigated in a different environment. I also talked myself out of doing any extracurriculars for fear of not fitting in. I was never bullied, but I was acutely self-conscious of my difference, and the shame and fear of rejection that arose from that kept me from getting involved in activities that probably would have helped my mental health as well as my future.

How do you feel being gay/bi has impacted you as a person?

As I said in my last answer, it made me feel pretty isolated when I was younger. It also hurt my self esteem. When gay marriage initiatives were defeated I was less upset about the practical implications than I was about the fact that a majority of people didn't think I deserved the same rights they had. I really internalized that, unfortunately.

Do you feel like it's important for you to have other gay friends or is it indifferent?

At this point in my life I don't care. I've had gay friends and straight friends and there's really no difference to me. I do think I need a place like this, though, because these discussions are important to me. I just don't feel that they're necessary to friendships.