Know your AIQA- Keshavi Sethi

By Keshavi Sethi

(This is the picture i posted when i came out) 
Hey! My name is keshavi sethi and im 15 years old and im bisexual. 
Due to a horrible experience in grade 6, being a part of the community was explained to me as being equivalent to committing a sin. 
Cut to 7th grade when I actually got access to the internet and i  educated myself and found out that its totally normal. All along , i knew there was something i was hiding , something i wasn’t really comfortable exploring or talking about . 
It was hard for me to accept my sexuality.Being in the closet felt like being trapped. I created a safe space for myself,where nobody could ever hurt me . I was running away & often spent sleepless nights . I used to zone out between conversations and at times completely cut my contact with the world.  I had no local person i could look upto and that’s when I discovered Connor Franta . His channel is one of the biggest reason i found hope and confidence to share my story.
I finally came out to a friend in 9th grade summer vacation, it was an extremely vulnerable and emotional moment for me and felt like i had achieved something great. 
I had already expressed my support towards the community so when i came out to some other friends, it wasnt a surprise .  The response was amazingly positive. 
15th October 2017, i posted my story online . My DMs were flooded with wishes and love . I was the first person to ever address something like this or come out in school . Of course this had consequences. I was bullied and blackmailed and i still am but none of it affects me now. The thought of coming out to my parents is still scary and i know its not happening anytime soon but at least im able to live as myself even if its w my friends. 
Its been more than a year since i came out and so many students ask me for help to figure their sexuality out .Im glad i could stir up the conversation and even happier to be trustworthy enough for other closeted people to consult.

I want to be a part of AIQA because i do not want any other kid to ever be afraid of being the authentic version of themself. 
I want to be a part of AIQA because my love towards someone should not be the reason to invalidate my normality ,snatch Away my rights or discriminate me.