How can you be happy being someone that you're not?

Part 1/2

"My biggest fear was rejection. I didn't feel comfortable telling my parents I was gay because they said my gay uncle was a bad influence. The only person I thought would be accepting of me wasn't, and even hurt me physically. One of the most difficult things for me was accepting that I won't be accepted by everyone.

"That acceptance of self came on my mission. I saw that people were fine being different from their neighbors. After coming home, I became friends with a gay gender-fluid individual who had left the church and was happy living their life authentically—it caught me off guard. It was completely opposite of what I had been taught. I asked my friend how they could be happy, and my friend responded by asking 'How can you be happy being someone that you're not?' I couldn't answer with anything other than 'I can't.'"