LGBT Event at college. Should I go?

[CellarDweller]

So I ended up going. Turns out it was basically just a little hang out session for students to chat while eating and drinking hot chocolate. It seemed like most of the people there already knew each other (possibly from prior LGBT events), so it was hard for me to interact with people since they were already all in different groups having conversations. I suppose I could've been brave and asked what they were talking about and try to see if there was anything I could add. But I'm not brave... :/ I just got some food, took a few pamphlets about the community and upcoming events, got a rainbow Ally pin, and left. Hopefully I can go to a future one that has a core activity.

Congrats on going! I hope that you follow their schedule and they have an event that you really are excited about.

[hue]

Ok, the event is over by now, but I'm in a posting mood. You mentioned 2 issues:
Do you want to be Out at college? Will you freeze up socially?

I choose my closets as do many. For me, closet door is tightly shut with my family. Period. As I've come out in the past year at work and everywhere else it has been tremendously liberating and, cosidering my locale in rural Georgia, remarkably well-received. I crossdress consistantly, although never flamboyantly. Only occasionally am I called ma'am.

It sounds as if you want the gay social contact but not the label just yet, and that's ok. In the end you live with your decisions, especially those with "no turning back" consequences.

As to social awkwardness, the only way to deal with that is to leave electronic distractions at home on the charger and focus on interacting, either individually or in comfortably sized groups.