Season Opening – New Cycle of LGBT Gatherings in SOC

After winter break, we are back again with new cycle of gatherings for the LGBT community, on biweekly basis. This year we have new events coming up – gatherings, workshops, with guests from BiH and the region. We will also continue to observe important dates from LGBT history, as well as do different actions and campaigns.

First workshop that opened the season was on Coming out, that was held end of January. Fifteen of us gathered on Saturday afternoon, talking about processes we went through or some of us are still going through: where to find support, whom to talk to, do our dearest ones actually know but pretend that they don’t, how to deal with our own emotions, fears and possible rejections, when one comes out of the closet?

We talked about the hardest part of coming out process –is it accepting our own sexuality and identities or is it getting support and love from our closest circle?

Sharing our very personal stories, we have connected even more and realized that we all go through same process, more or less. We all have our moments of despair, but knowing that we are not alone; the world becomes bearable place to live in.

At the end, the workshop took its own flow, other than one we planned, as stories continued, ones asked for advice, others were sharing their own stories, and by the end of the day, that became our safe space for couple of hours. Place safe enough for sharing our deepest emotions and personal stories, when we all became one.

We all need, from time to time, to listen and to be heard. That’s the empowerment part. We’ve all been there, one way or another. Coming out for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people is sometimes unexpected, sometimes frightening, sometimes it happens when we least want it/expect it. Usually it is almost always stressful. That’s why these four hours that we spent together, was kind of our way of dismissing the entire burden we carry, and that’s how this workshop became a session of a support group.

After the workshop one of the participants wrote: „This was the best Coming out workshop and I’ve been on each and every since 2011. “

We encourage all of you, to feel free and write us, what topics would you like to discuss more?

If you want to be part of SOC activist group, or you would like just to stop by for a talk over coffee/tea, drop us an email at [email protected]

We thank each and every of you who came! We thank you for your personal stories. Until next time, follow us on social media!