We have such a fantastic community of supportive individuals in our BLōFISH family which is something that we are so grateful for. One way folks are able to get more involved in spreading our All4All message is by joining our Maven program! Hailey, an active member in our Maven 10/10 Pod Program, and program coordinator at the OUT Foundation is no exception in building up her community and living the BLōFISH lifestyle. During National Coming Out Day Hailey shared her story and we were completely taken back. Keep reading so that you can hear her coming out story and what ALL4ALL means to her - and be sure to follow her on Instagram:

I was on the train home from a baseball game when I met the most incredible woman in the world. The next day we went on our first date and have been together ever since. Around the end of July, I started thinking about coming out because Adriana’s birthday was August 15th. I was living at home at the time and my parents are the type of parents that ask a lot of questions about where I am and who I’m with and I wanted to be able to spend the weekend with Adriana without hiding it. So on August 1st, 2017 I came home from work early and my dad if he wanted to talk (mom was still at work) and I started telling him about this person I met in March and had fallen in love with. I played the pronoun game of course and just kept saying “they/them”. At the end I said “andddd her name is Adriana” and I was sobbing during all of this. He looked at me and hugged me and said why are you crying? He said “do you love her? Does she make you happy?” I said yes to both so he said “great, I can’t wait to meet her.”

He then asked if I had told my mom and I said no because she scared me, so he said “I think she should be fine but I want to be there when you tell her” so I went to the gym and taco Tuesday with my friends and came home to both of my parents watching a movie. I said, “Hey mom can I talk to you for a minute?” (Side note: the week before she had asked me if I was dating anyone and I said no... she looked at me knowing I was lying) so I said, “Ummm remember when you asked me last week if I was dating anyone?” She said “yes, I know you were lying to me. Is it a boy or a girl?” I didn’t even cry because I was so surprised. I said “remember my friend who I met on the train I told you about a few months ago who helped me get home that night after the baseball game? It’s her.” She then proceeded to tell me about her mom intuition and how she had a feeling. But then she said exactly what I needed to hear. She said “30 years ago when I dated other men of color and first started dating your dad, people weren’t necessarily okay with me being with a man of color.... people used to try and break us up and tell us they didn’t approve and would make me feel bad. It was the worst feeling loving someone and knowing those people you loved didn’t support you. I would never make you feel the way I did during that time. If you love her and she treats you well and makes you happy then I completely support you. And I am your mother and I love you unconditionally”

I had already told my siblings at this point and they didn’t care at all who it was, they were just happy I was happy. I am so lucky to have parents who were so supportive and love Adriana as their own.

I remember the first time I thought about a girl differently I was in 7th grade. But I hid it for years because I just hadn’t found anyone I wanted to risk coming out for. But when I met my girlfriend and I knew she was the one, I knew I couldn’t hide it anymore.

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