INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA: is the involuntary adoption of society's negative views, stigma, and prejudices against LGBTQ+ people by LGBTQ+ individuals themselves. You and Maki have always been close, growing up only living two doors down from each other. There's nothing wrong with two girls being close, right? Maki came out in middle school as a lesbian; no one was shocked. She never seemed interested in boys. That never bothered you till she got a girlfriend and you felt this ping of jealousy. You couldn’t figure out why it bothered you so till you realized you have feelings for Maki?? No, that could be because you weren’t lesbian; you were the farthest thing from it. Plus, it was wrong for girls to like other girls. Girls were only supposed to date guys , right? Slowly these feelings started to manifest on the outside. You hated the LGBTQ+. You started to hate Maki till one day you and she got into a heated argument, and you told her being a lesbian disgusted you and how nasty she was for liking girls. You stopped talking for 3 years. Maki and her girlfriend eventually broke up, and you both continued on in life, but the guilt of that argument continued to eat you alive. Now you’ve hit rock bottom and don’t know where to go from here.