Although I came out as gay when I was 15 I didn’t fully embrace who I was until four years later when I moved to Liverpool.
Here, in the city, with the vibrant Pride quarter right on my front door is where I learnt how to be 100 per cent comfortable with my sexuality and be unapologetically myself. However, it hasn’t always been this way.
Growing up in Ballymoney, a small town in Northern Ireland, came with its challenges. There was next to no LGBTQ+ community, which meant I hadn’t a single gay friend and was miles behind in experiencing a romantic relationship in comparison to my heterosexual friends. The closest LGBTQ+ venue to me was 49 miles away, drag shows were few and far between and men's make-up or fashion were rarely talked about.
