answer:It only gets better from here! Once you acknowledge who you really are to yourself and then start to validate that self in your interactions with others, there can be a significant experience of freedom. I came out when I was 18 (officially to others) and have now been out for more than half of my life. I have been afforded tremendous opportunities to be out (due to my job), but things were rough with my family at first and, even today, I get a little worried coming out to former high school chums. The folks who know me in my adult life have never known me to be any different than I am now. I think personal disclosure needs to be done in a mindful, safe way. I wouldn’t take out a billboard, and I would shore up my sources of strength and support before I came out to anyone whose reaction might sting.