It can feel liberating to speak your truth to others. If you're ready to live fully as yourself, you are ready to come out. If you're not confident in how you identify, you might want to wait to tell your family members. Make sure that you can comfortably say to yourself, "I am gay and proud of who I am" before you tell your family. If you are having trouble figuring out how you identify, that's okay. Try going to a helpful website like the one for PFLAG. That organization has great resources for members of the LGBT community and their friends and family members. You could also talk to a gay person that you know and ask if they could share their coming out experience with you. It's understandable that you might be nervous before you come out. That's okay! Take some time to plan out what you want to say. This will help your comfort level. Jot down what you want to say word for word or just jot down some main points. You could write down an opening statement like, "Mom, I have something important to tell you. I'm gay, and I'm very happy that I can be open and honest with you." You can also list some keywords to include, like proud, excited, or nervous. Try writing down how you might respond if the person says something negative. You could try, "I was really hoping for your support. If you're not able to offer that right now, maybe we could talk again in a few days." You don't have to tell multiple people at once unless you want to. Think about the people in your family and consider who is supportive and understanding. You might want to tell them first. They can serve as your support system when you are ready to tell more people. Of course, it's fine if you want to tell both parents at once. But if you feel more comfortable with one of them, you can talk to them separately. You could choose to tell a sibling or a kind aunt or uncle first. It's completely up to you and who you feel most comfortable with. If you're feeling pretty uncertain, consider writing a letter. A personal note for a family member allows you to express yourself without dealing with the anxiety of a face to face conversation. It will also give them time to process your news privately. Another benefit of letters is that you have time to edit and make sure that you've said exactly what you want to say. Another option is to talk over the phone if you don't want to speak in person. It's great that you want to be open and honest with your family members. However, hold off on telling someone if they've given you signals that they are not accepting. While it's great to want to live your truth, it's also important that you prioritize your feelings. Coming out to someone who may make you feel bad might not be worth it. Avoid telling someone if: They frequently make homophobic remarks They have openly said hurtful things about gay people They have threatened to not support you if you come out as gay If you think that your family member might react negatively, make sure to plan for how that might impact you. If you live with your parents, make sure that you have an alternate living plan lined up in case your parents kick you out. Hopefully, that won't happen, but it's best to be prepared. Ask a friend or other family member if you can stay with them if the conversation doesn't go well. If your parents support you financially, consider waiting to tell them until you can support yourself.

Summary: Make sure you are ready to discuss your sexual orientation. Write down what you want to say. Choose one person to tell first. Write a letter if you're not comfortable speaking face to face. Consider waiting to come out if you don't think you'll be supported. Make sure you have options if you need to change your living situation.

Beat until smooth and creamy. This can be done by hand or using an electric mixer; the latter is faster. Beat in well. Ensure a smooth surface across the top (run a spatula or back of a spoon over it). Refrigerate for 3 hours or until it sets firmly. Add whipped cream, berry fruits or other standard accompaniments to a cheesecake.

Summary: Add the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk to the mixing bowl. Pour in the lemon juice and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Place in the refrigerator. Serve.

To send the text, after you've typed in your message in the message box, you will simply need to hit "send." If you want to reply to a text message, it works the same way. You click on the text you've received, and then type your reply in the smaller message box that appears at the bottom of the screen. Then hit "send" after you've completed your reply, and it will text the reply back to the person who wrote to you. The benefit of a text message is it should reach the recipient immediately. To forward a text message, tap and hold the message. Select the option to forward the message. You will probably find this under the "options" menu. Again you will have to type the recipient's phone number into the To: field and send it. Texting format is usually pretty short. In fact, you will be limited in how much you can write. The purpose of texting is to allow people to send short bursts of messages to each other quickly. You can only write 160 characters for each text, so get to the point. Think of a text email as a short email. You can keep texting, but the cell phone will break your text into multiple texts. Watch your tone. People can misperceive it, thinking you are angry when you are not. Stay polite in text messages and remember that people could save them to use against you.

Summary: Send the text. Stay short.

If your clay is only slightly hard, you may be able to soften it just by warming and kneading it with your hands. Before you start kneading the clay, hold the clay in your hands to warm it. You can also warm it using the heat of your body by sitting on top of it. Warmth helps to revitalize the clay. If your clay is only a little bit hard, you may be able to restore its softness just using body heat. No matter what method you use to soften clay, always warm it first. If the clay is especially hard, you may need to use a heat source to soften the clay. Lay a hot water bottle over your clay for twenty minutes to help soften it. You can also use a heat lamp, but be sure to not heat the clay over body temperature. This can cause the clay to start to bake, which will make it unusable. Additionally, you can put the clay in the microwave for 10-second spurts until it is warm. Once the clay has softened, roll it between your hands in a snake shape, then roll it into a ball. Rolling the clay creates friction, which helps to soften it. You can also cut the clay into small pieces, then roll it. If the clay is still too hard to roll with your hands, you may need to use more force. Lay the piece of clay on a clean cutting board or on the counter, then press down on the clay to flatten it out as much as you can. Then roll the clay out with a rolling pin. After you roll it out, it should be warm enough to roll with your hands. If your clay is too hard to roll out with a rolling pin, you will need a large amount of force. Break the clay up into as small of pieces as you can, then place the clay pieces in a sealed plastic bag. Wrap the bag with a cloth and put it on the floor or on the cement or pavement outside. Use a rubber mallet to pound on the clay for several minutes. Using the mallet will break up the clay and add friction which will make it softer. After you have used the rubber mallet, take the clay out of the bag and roll it with your hands into a ball. After you have rolled the clay, knead the clay with your hands on a counter just as you would with dough. Use as much force as you need to pull apart and reshape the clay. Kneading the clay ensures that you handle the entire surface area of the clay. You can also use a clay-kneading machine if you don't want to knead by hand.
Summary: Warm the clay with body heat. Warm the clay using a heat source. Roll the clay in your hands. Roll with a rolling pin. Hit the clay with a mallet. Knead the clay.