I can totally relate. I was an overachiever in high school and college. Now I feel like I'm lagging behind. Why? Let's see.

I got fired from my job shortly after I came out the first time at age 23, with being gay being a part of that (homophobic boss). My parents also are on the extreme end of homophobic and everyone I tell my coming out story to says it's the worst they've ever heard. I grew up extreme fundamentalist Baptist in the South for context. After getting fired, I ran away to North Carolina to live with a friend where I worked a dead-end job for a few years. While there, I relapsed back into Christianity, went back into the closet, and moved back home to Oklahoma. By this time it was 2012. I landed a better job after moving back to Oklahoma than I had in North Carolina, but I was (and still am) below where I started directly after college.

The past six years have basically been spent coming to terms with my sexuality and who I am. I did ex-gay conversion therapy in 2013-14 and since 2015 have slowly been coming to terms with myself. I finally left Christianity in 2017 and also started to slowly come out to people. I'm now out to most of my friends but still not out to my parents.

Let's just say through all this, I've coasted in terms of my professional life and all of my mental and emotional energy has been funneled into dealing with my sexuality and how that impacts my relationship with my family. I also spent years in deep regret about moving back to Oklahoma where I'm now stuck. I really feel like my life's potential has been severely stunted.

So yes, this hits very close to home for me.