sluggobear

• The song All out of Love, by Air Supply, is playing on the radio... and your mood matches the song exactly.

• Sadness, emptiness, general loss of interest or pleasure, change in appetite, weight change, sleep issues, fatigue, guilt, nervousness, helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, isolation, loneliness, anxiety, trouble concentrating, focus, inability to make decisions, thoughts of death, decrease in self-esteem, periods of sobbing, aggression, irritability, avoiding social situations, excessive procrastination, withdrawal.

• Respect privacy filters, if people choose to use them.
• Seek first to understand and keep an open mind. Remember that the topics may be difficult for some people. Passing harsh or quick judgment is probably not going to be helpful.
• Be sure to leave comments if you are in the same boat, or if you can relate, or if you can just lend a show of support. We will all appreciate even just a brief acknowledgment, virtual hug, commiseration, etc.

October 11th is Coming-Out Day.  But being gay is not the only thing you can keep in a closet. It's quite liberating to be able to reveal something you've been hiding.  Maybe we keep things secret to avoid getting hurt, or to avoid hurting others.  But often we're mostly just worried about what others will think of us.  And yet, no matter what secret you may have... someone else is probably hiding exactly the same thing.

Perhaps you've felt the relief after telling someone you're gay... and you no longer have to be constantly vigilant and secretive about it. This principle applies to other things, as well. Perhaps you are suffering from depression. Perhaps you believe in God, but you don't tell your gay friends for fear of being judged or made fun-of. Maybe you've done something dishonest, or you are bi-sexual. Perhaps you have a medical condition, maybe you've served time in prison, or perhaps you're still suffering from a traumatic event.

They say that "the truth shall set you free," so here's the meme challenge. During the week of October 11th, Coming-Out Day, reveal something about yourself that you've been hiding. If something's been eating away at you, here's your chance to say something.

Please exercise discretion. You might not want to disclose something that will get you in legal trouble, or would violate someone's trust. And there are certain things that are personal, some of which you may decide should remain that way.

If you're up to the challenge, be brave, be bold, and consider that you might be helping someone else to know they're not alone. Or maybe you'll just be relieved that you don't have to keep something secret anymore.

Here's the full text of the original meme, along with some ideas for things you might want to consider writing about.
http://sluggobear.livejournal.com/180295.html

• Exit Music for a Film (Radiohead)
  
• The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret (Queens of the Stone Age)
  
• Pedestrian Wolves (Oingo Boingo)
  
• Lazy Dykes (Morrissey)
  
• Logic will Break your Heart (The Stills)
  
• Everything in its Right Place (Radiohead)
• This Song's Just Six Words Long (Weird Al Yankovic)
• Throw that beat in the Garbage Can (The B-52's)
• Satan Gave me a Taco (Beck)
  
• You give Drugs a Bad Name (Nashville Pussy)
  
• You Fuckin' Die! (The Pixies)
• Wild Sex (In the Working Class) (Oingo Boingo)
• Cool As Kim Deal (The Dandy Warhols)

October 11th is national "Coming-out Day."  If haven't already come-out to your family and friends, I challenge you to do so.  Not only will it be beneficial for you, but it will help continue the cause of GLBT folks everywhere.  According to a Pew study, "overall, those who say they have a family member or close friend who is gay are more than twice as likely to support gay marriage as those who don't."

Coming-out to my parents back in 1998 was such a relief, I can't even tell you.  Once that was done, I felt like I could tackle just about anything.  I honestly felt that, if I were on my dying bed, I could die without any regrets because I wasn't hiding anything anymore.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMING-OUT

Now.  I dare say that many (most?) of us here are already "out," at least to our families and friends... and October 11th is probably not a date of very much significance.

But being gay is not the only thing you can keep in a closet.  If you've ever seen the movie In & Out, you might remember a great scene in which Debbie Reynolds' character reveals to her friends that she too, has a secret... and we soon learn that (surprise!)... everyone has something in their closet.  *insert cheeky R. Kelly reference here*

It's quite a liberating thing to be able to reveal something you've been hiding.  Maybe we keep things secret to avoid getting hurt, or to avoid hurting others.  But I think that most often, we're mostly just worried about what others will think of us.  And yet, no matter what secret you may have, you might be surprised to learn that someone else is hiding exactly the same thing.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MEME

I'll bet a lot of you also felt the relief after coming-out of the closet and telling someone that you are gay.  It's such a relief to not have to be constantly vigilant and secretive, careful not to say things, and just being yourself.  And I believe this principle applies to other things, as well.  Perhaps you are suffering from depression.  Perhaps you believe in God, but you don't tell your gay friends for fear of being judged or made fun-of.  Maybe you've done something dishonest, or something you regret.  Maybe you believe that marijuana should be made legal, but you don't say anything because you don't want to be labeled a pot-head.  Maybe you are a bi-sexual, but you don't tell your friends because they'll make fun of you for liking parts of the female anatomy.  Or perhaps you have a medical condition that you haven't wanted to divulge.  Maybe you've served time in prison.  Perhaps you are still suffering from a traumatic event... for example, if you were molested, or if you've been abused at some point in your life.

THE MEME CHALLENGE

Under the premise of "the truth shall set you free," here's my meme challenge.  On October 11th, Coming-Out Day, reveal something about yourself that you've been hiding.  If something's been eating away at you, or you've been ashamed about something... or even if you're just looking for an excuse to tell us something that we didn't know... here's your chance to say something.

If you're reading this, consider yourself "tagged."  I challenge you to spend the next few days thinking about the skeletons in your closet.  Choose 1, 2 or 3 of them, and ponder whether it would be beneficial to reveal them.

Please exercise discretion.  You might not want to disclose something that will get you in legal trouble, or would violate someone's trust.  I would also request that you be respectful of people's privacy.  (If you've promised someone to keep a secret, for example, I would encourage you to keep that commitment.)  There are certain things that are intimate and personal, and some of those things should just always remain that way.  And if you're not ready to discuss something right now, then consider writing about it another time (maybe next year).

That being said... be brave, be bold, and consider that you might be helping someone else to know they're not alone.

Feel free to copy and paste this meme into your own journals.

I myself have a couple of things I will blog about on October 11th.  I do not believe they are horrible things, but still they are things that I just haven't brought-up here.  I invite you to do the same.  (This is one opportunity where you get a free pass to share your drama!  LOL!)

Perhaps you will find healing, or maybe you'll find that someone else is in the same boat as you.  Or maybe you'll just be relieved that you don't have to keep something secret anymore.

Click photo above, or see all photos uploaded by SluggoBear

OK, I'll bite. At reslbear's request, I shall participate in Friday's "show us your suit" festival.

(The photos are with my friends Donna and Shannan.)

The meme.

• Take a look at your LJ friends list, then list up to ten things you want to say to ten different LJ friends.
• DO NOT state who these people are.
• DO NOT confirm nor deny any "comment speculation".

1. Post, dammit!
2. You have the coolest LJ icons.
3. Come visit!
4. I want you to meet someone very special, someone who can make you happy; that person will never be worthy of you.
5. Just be patient.
6. It's hard to make a good living as an artist.  I'm not saying it's right.  I'm just saying, that's just how the economy is.
7. I like being friends and I think that's how it oughtta remain.
8. Everything's going to be OK.
9. I like rubbing your head, and you know it.  (More innocent than it sounds)
10. I miss you two... and I smile every time I think of you.

aairplane doth ask of me to elucidate six unusual things about myself. Then let the fun begin:

• I am somewhat claustrophobic, and occasionally must ask people to step away from me.
• I am somewhat obsessive-compulsive.  Thankfully I don't have issues with excessive scrubbing, hoarding or cleaning.  However my mind does tend to turn everything into a list.
• I nearly skipped 2nd grade (for good reading skills) and nearly flunked 4th grade (for poor handwriting).
• I didn't try a drop of alcohol until I was 21.
• I've lived in California, but never surfed. I lived in Utah, but never skied. I lived in Ukraine, but never had a drop of vodka while I was there.
• I believe the war on drugs and the war on terror, as America is currently fighting them, are futile and can never be won.  (I'll elaborate on these at some future time.)

From Simon (bearlesque)

INFO
1. name:
2. birthday:
3. place of residence:
4. what makes you happy:
5. what are you listening to now/have listened to last:
6. do you read my lj:
7. if you do, what is particularly good about it:
8. an interesting fact about you:
9. are you in love/have a crush at the moment:
10. favourite place to be:
11. favourite lyric:
12. best time of the year:

RECOMMEND
1. a film:
2. a book:
3. a band, a song or an album:

PLUS
1. one thing you like about me:
2. two things you like about yourself:
3. put this in your lj so i can tell you what i think of you.

My clique, size 7

cubatlanta, briefscub, bearseattle, kingfuraday, heiff, sluggobear, shortstackbear



Find the largest clique containing:

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