When I was 13, three and a half years ago, I got a crush on a boy from my soccer team.
I never really found out if it was actually just a crush or if I actually was in love, but the fact that I loved someone who was on my soccer team in any way freaked me out. The fact that I was still so small and yet experiencing such big feelings freaked me out. The fact that I loved someone who was not a girl nearly killed me. Literally.
I've never had real struggles accepting my homosexuality for myself, but it took me almost two years to come out publicly. Because I was so afraid of society.
The Fosters was already on TV when I finally took that last step for myself, but I hadn't heard of it like ever, even though even just watching that show might really have helped me combatting societal norms and coming clean about the person I am.
In next week's episode, Jude and Connor will be going to an LGBTQ prom, as you probably know. We've seen them hold hands, we've seen them kiss and we've seen them come out. And as the Jonnor storyline is continuing, people start criticising it a little. They say it's not really a storyline anymore, but more like a new episode of "The Adventures of Jonnor" each week. And to be perfectly honest, I can't help but agree, and I kind of hope it will change.
But Jude and Connor form a relationship that is so unique and so special that their storyline has become less relevant than their importance for society. I know it's a cliché, but I really could have used Jonnor when I went through all the struggles they're facing.
Yesterday, The US Supreme Court legalized gay marriage all over the country. Facebook users all over the world are changing their profile pictures into rainbows. "Celebrate Pride," it's called. And I'm celebrating to the fullest, because I spent too much time hiding myself and my time as a teenager is running out. I think back to that first gay crush and how long it has been, and what a hurricane my life became after it. All the valuable time I could have spent being myself I wasted, because I didn't dare to come out. Because had no Jonnor to guide me.
Don't be too hard on our OTP: think of all the LGBT kids who need them. And let's hope Jude and Connor can contribute to their self-confidence, so that one day, they can celebrate as well.