How a Clever Insurance Spot, Stevie Nicks, and My BFF Reminded Me How I Got the Courage To Live Honestly
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National Coming Out Day sneaks up on me every year.
October is so full of deadlines and projects it is all I can do to keep my head above water. If it weren’t for social media, it would just pass by and I wouldn’t notice.
Besides, National Coming Out Day is for Other People.
I’ve been out for years.
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This year would have been the same. I was doing my Thing at work, when my phone started blowing up. Friends and family were texting me, and tagging me. John Lewis Home Insurance in Great Britain released a new commercial, featuring a young boy dancing around his home to Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.”
I’m sure everyone who sent it thought I’d get a chuckle out of it. I’m sure no one expected I would be choking back tears. Growing up in rural Texas, I was literally the only gay in the village. Even in elementary I knew I didn’t fit in, I didn’t know who I was. That all changed the first time I heard Stevie Nicks, at the age of eight. My mother had bought Stevie’s first solo album ‘Bella Donna.’ From the opening chords of the title track I was (wait for it) Enchanted. I commandeered the vinyl, and it never left my bedroom. When no one was home, I would wrap myself in a blanket and spin around the room, finally feeling like myself, signing along to my Queen (I guarantee you I got every lyric wrong). Stevie was with me though my youth, as I finally understood that I was attracted to men. Her music comforted me as I buried my truth deep inside, fearful of the reaction of my family and friends. It was though Stevie (and the New Teen Titans letter column), I met my best friend. Anthony was the first person I came out to, and he gave me the courage to live my life openly and honestly.
30 years later, we are still the best of friends. The John Lewis ad made me realize that even though I may be out, there is someone out there who’s courage is faltering.
Announcing you’re gay on social media may be cliche, but if it gives one person the encouragement they need to live their Truth, then it’s worth it.
I’m Randy Ham and I am Gay.
Happy National Coming Out Day.
