Hello, my name is Sadie Bellin. The main struggles I have faced as a lesbian are with my family. My mother pretends that I am not in a relationship with a woman. She also did not speak to me for 6 months after I did make my relationship public. This was strenuous on our relationship as I felt rejected by someone I thought would always be accepting of me. I am a mother of two children as well. Being a lesbian parent comes with its struggles as well. I feel like I cannot properly be myself when in school setting and when I am amongst other parents. This has been somewhat hard on me, but I also worry for my children. I don't ever want them to feel like me being with someone of the same sex outcasts them somehow. I have mostly overcame these struggles, but I do struggle with shame at times for fear of judgement. My goals are to complete an associates degree in dental hygeine. This career path I have chosen I believe is my chance to provide for my children and give them the opportunities they are deserving of. Choosing to go invest my time and energy into school has been extraordinarily rewarding this far. My girlfriend has been supportive of this journey. She has helped me in her support and in financially keeping our family afloat as I pursued my academic journey. I believe that I am on my way to providing a better life for myself and family I hope. Another struggle that I have face pertaining to being a lesbian, is being accepted by friends. When I first told my closest friends, they really just didn't believe me. This was extremely invalidating of my feelings. I have come to realize that this is who I am. I don't need to be accepted by everyone in order to accept myself. I think that at the end of the day, as long as I am in a healthy happy relationship, that is what should matter. My children are 4 and 6. So as I mentioned before, the struggle of attending school activities with my girlfriend have been awkward. I feel like I struggle with feeling judged constantly, maybe more than it is even taking place. I am still struggling with those emotions internally. I am in therapy, and that has been helping a lot. All in all, the struggles I have faced were not necessarily things I ever worried about until I did begin my relationship with my girlfriend. I am proud of our relationship. It can be hard to deal with all the dynamics that come along with coming out at a later age. Thank you for your time, Sadie Bellin.