Opinion: Personal Milestones

I was in Bangladesh over the winter, but it seems I don't have
much to report back. 

I haven't written for the blog in quite some time, and so first and foremost my apologies to anyone who's been waiting for an update. In truth, I haven't been writing because I haven't had much to report. As you may know, I write thematically - and my current series of posts focus on coming out to different people in different situations. And I feel I've now reached a point where I've written almost as much as I can on this topic. 

I spent a sizeable part of my winter break in Bangladesh, and I had originally intended to speak to various members of my extended family about my bisexuality during this time. However, in the midst of all the reunions and family photos sessions, I realised how unimportant the issue had become to me. I don't mean to say I no longer identify with the principle of being open and comfortable with one's sexuality. Rather, as a result of this principle I lead a fairly transparent life now. Those who want to know about me can easily find out through social media or mutual connections. This means telling people, especially people who I am not particularly close to, is a low priority in my life. Any conversations I would have had with certain relatives would have felt forced. I would never discuss my intimate personal or romantic life with some of them, no matter what the gender of my partner - we just aren't that close. Once upon a time I may have contemplated braving through a few awkward conversations to create awareness, but there needs to be a balance between that and what is one's personal space. My extended family will find out in time anyway, as I tell the remaining important people in my life about my bisexuality. 

On that note, I have the odd story I may still want to tell, but I feel the next (and possibly only) important milestone left to me on this theme are my parents. I don't know when this milestone will pass, and so I will give no indication of dates. In the meantime, I want to focus on other things. I have my career to work on, a subject I do not discuss on this blog except where it becomes relevant in terms of my sexuality. I am at peace with my personal beliefs, which comes easily when one realises religion is always down to interpretation. This holds true no matter what the status quo insists, and however much judgement they pass without genuine awareness of LGBTQ realities. There are many scholars, past and present, who's works people have recommended - perhaps it is time I get around to looking into them. And just because I have fewer personal stories to publish doesn't mean I can't continue to write about issues that are important to me, which will usually converge around LGBTQ equality, Bangladesh and Islam. I have a collection of thoughts, notes and mutilated essays on these very topics sitting on my dashboard. Over the coming months, I will be concentrating on publishing these, once I've managed to organise them in a way that makes sense. Until then, I will be on Twitter as usual.