Being able to live your truth.  It's a message that shines bright this time of year reminding everyone, no matter what, that love is love.  And many Guamanians sharing that message on this National Coming Out Day.

The celebration is a powerful one for many in the LGBTQ+ community, like Frank Lujan. He admits coming out to his family took courage, recalling, "At first, it was kind of like a rocky start. I did come out to my parents and at the time we grew up as a Catholic household."

"At the time, I was not ready for it. I was not prepared to but it came up in a conversation. And at the time my parents were kind of iffy in a sense about it. They weren't prepared for me coming out," Lujan shared.

He says neither parent was ready to hear his news back in 2014. It was a bumpy ride that eventually led him and his family down a road toward acceptance and support.  "A quite funny thing is that my dad would literally go out of his way to buy something," he said. "So I have these socks he bought from Las Vegas. It says 'Hella gay' on it."

With that comfort, Lujan adding he also found support among his school friends. Though his coming out still met with some difficulty - Lujan found himself balancing his truth with the beliefs taught in his school. 

"You know that whole thing like where they’re saying a family is built on a man and a woman and all these things. And I had a confirmation teacher who told me that same exact thing," he said.

He’s proud of who he is and he says nothing can take that away from him. "I didn’t feel pressured from them because in my mind already, I know who I am. I know what my future will be, and I don’t want to have that type of negative energy in my life," he said. "After coming out and me being actually who i am, I was able to explore new opportunities, and be part of a community that shows, basically love and all the forms of it."

Lujan is living his life loud and with pride, like many others celebrating National Coming Out Day.

Today is also a reminder that you don’t need to be out to be proud.