There is a universal truth in coming out: it's very hard. The process of telling your loved ones about who you really are is an extremely scary one, and it is probably one of the most difficult things any young queer person can do in their entire lives.
Coming out can also be hard on the parents of queer kids, and that fact has never been more evident than in a recent video published on Monday by Irish vlogger Riyadh Khalaf.
In the emotional YouTube clip, Riyadh shares the story of how he came out to his parents, and how his dad Sam (who grew up in Iraq) took the news of him being gay. Eventually, Riyadh's father confesses that when he first learned his son was queer, he contemplated taking his own life.
"I feel so silly now...thinking about it now, it’s stupid," Sam said, recounting how afraid he was of people's opinions about his out, gay son, and how he regrets even thinking about trying to commit suicide. "I actually got up that night when you all when to sleep, I think about three or four o'clock in the morning, sitting on the deck, and I was looking for a tablet to commit suicide. It was so stupid."
"You're the best dad in the fucking world," Riyadh reassures his dad towards the end of the video.
Watch Riyadh's story in the video below.
