Sam and Sarah were wearing my very favorite combination of colors when we met, so I fell in love with them at the first sight. What came after only confirmed that my first impression was right. They both have this calm, peaceful vibe that makes you want to be around them forever. 

Sarah is an artist from Wisconsin who’s been in Boston for about four years. Since an early age, her passion and talent for art were evident in the illustrations and doodles she used to create. Sarah uses oil paint and blank canvas as a trail to both come home to herself and also to find home in other people. Lately, she’s been incorporating more queerness into her paintings - which, for her, represents a new chapter that is as scary as exciting. 

Sarah comes from a very religious home. Her mother was a nun, so she went to Catholic school, was always in church and carries all of that package that only people with a religious background will know well. Her father as well, comes from a family of Southern Baptists, very rigid and conservative parents, so matters such as gender and sexuality were never a topic of discussion in their house. 

Being raised in an environment of shame and guilt kept Sarah from fully exploring her sexuality for a long time. Right now, though, she feels like she’s in a beautiful journey of rediscovering herself everyday and knowing she doesn’t need to stick with a specific label or fit in a box. 

Things happened a little differently for Sam. Living in Boston since 2015, they come from suburban Philadelphia and grew up with no reference of queerness. The first nuisances appeared during high school, when Sam started to question men’s and young boy’s typical behaviors towards each other and towards women and girls. Intuitively Sam built closer relationships with the girls in their class and with queer people, and then later they came to identify as a non-binary person.

At home, Sam had a great experience. Their mom was supportive, curious and interested in learning more about their desire to relate with gender from a perspective of fluidity. 

In Boston, Sam has been able to come into queerness with an abundance of support as well. They’re part of a masculinity support group for about 6 years, where they’ve found the opportunity to connect with folks of different races, classes, genders and backgrounds and where they have a chance to develop deep, analytical conversations about urgent issues such as vulnerability, compulsory heterosexuality, misogyny.

Sam is a very extroverted person. Building community, sharing spaces and seeking fulfilling relationships is what they prioritize in life, because this is where they feel represented and embraced. And that’s what unites Sam and Sarah in first place. Their bond goes beyond their compatibility and great conversations. They have always encountered in each other someone who sees, appreciates and celebrates every part of them. In their own words, that’s the foundation of how they learned to love each other. 

Note to reader: everyone deserves a love like this. :)

(This post is part of a bigger series called LGBTQIA+plural. To understand the projet, click here. To see the full photo gallery, click here).