Prism & Pen

Amplifying LGBTQ voices through the art of storytelling

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When I Realized I Wasn’t Straight — and Why It Took So Long

Reflecting on the lost years of hiding from myself and others.

Esther
Prism & Pen
Published in
4 min readDec 31, 2024

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This image shows two individuals walking through a grassy park, holding opposite ends of a large, vibrant rainbow pride flag. The person on the left is wearing light-colored pants and a floral top, while the person on the right is in jeans and a light sweater. The flag flows behind them, catching the sunlight filtering through the trees in the background.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels

It was mid-March 2022. I had just moved to a new city for college. An excited 19-year old, ready for any adventure that came her way, except there was more to this freedom than met the eye.

I grew up in a religious Christian household and — sad as it may be — had only begun deconstructing and questioning my beliefs little less than a year ago. Having been raised with homophobic beliefs, I learnt that January that I was in fact an ally, switched teams entirely, and was now discovering bit by bit that my undue devotion to the queer community might have had to do with something more than just the philanthropist in me (or exactly that). Moving away from my biological family and to a new city was just what I needed at the time. Thankfully for me, this new city was Delhi — the capital and my soon-to-be city of stars.

Like any good ally I had begun questioning my attraction to women. However, it would all stop the moment I’d imagine a kiss. I did not want to kiss a girl, I was sure of it. I had been attracted to several women at different points in my life, but never sexually — perhaps due to my instinctual repression of anything unchristian. Until I joined an all-girls college for my undergrad…

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Prism & Pen
Prism & Pen

Published in Prism & Pen

Amplifying LGBTQ voices through the art of storytelling

Esther
Esther

Written by Esther

You'll find here the thoughts and stories of an Indian, disabled, queer non-binary person. feel free to peruse. The world is heavy, I lift what I can. -Dante S

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