Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leslie Cox . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Leslie, appreciate you joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

My girlfriend, Caroline, recently proposed. She planned this elaborate hallmark movie proposal and she went all out: convincing me she was out of town, renting out a local flower shop, orchestrating friends and family to be present, and customizing a lab-created emerald ring, While Caroline was reading her speech to me, I sobbed and yes, I truly mean sobbed. Caroline had to stop and ask the shop owner if they had napkins so she could wipe the black streams of mascara off my cheeks. For us, her proposal was a huge step -and yes, proposals are huge events for everyone – for us in particular, it meant everything to me. When Caroline and I started dating she was closeted. At one point in her life, she decided that rather than come out she would rather be single and she held onto this belief for years, despite a deep longing for companionship. The same was true for me. Like Caroline, I grew up in the South, went to church at least once a week, and was expected to marry – at the time, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal so my church didn’t even feel the need to specify that I marry a man. The night Caroline proposed she announced our relationship and intentions publically by both placing a finger on my ring as a physical symbol of our union and by also hiring a videographer to capture the moment.

The videographer got the video back to us in less than a week, explaining that she was really excited to work on the project and finished it ahead of time. When we watched the video, I sobbed again. The video was incredible. Alongside our excitement, we had some apprehension knowing that there would be friends and family who wouldn’t understand or celebrate us at best, and refuse to participate at worse.

I want my legacy to be an archive of queer victory, joy, heartbreak, and celebration. I want young LBGTQ people to find videos of queer proposals like mine, and see what their future could look like. I want individuals living in areas where they can’t safely or legally be themselves and read stories of queer people that are living outside the closet. I want my family and friends to witness my life and the lives of queer people out there and understand that there is no difference between the way they express love and the ways we love.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m the founder of Love Les – a storytelling blog. After publically coming out on social media, I was surprised to see how many people interacted with my post, which left me questioning why it struck a chord with so many people — especially with people I hadn’t met. There’s something about stories that attract us and compel us. I’ve found that vulnerable narratives especially leave us feeling challenged, inspired, empowered, questioning, and hopeful. So the driving force behind Love Les, is to offer a glimpse into the ordinary lives of LBGTQ people simply living their day-to-day lives. My guest’s interviews are incredibly personal, entirely inspiring, and brimming with hope. Better yet, each interview ends with coming out advice from people who have been there themselves.

Running Love Les, I’ve learned self-compassion. I’m a wildly private and introverted human. Putting myself out there and telling my story felt insanely vulnerable. I almost deleted my post when comments kept rolling in. Years into the blog, I fight through anxiety every time I reach out to someone and ask if they would interview with me. Sometimes anxiety get the best of me, when it does, self-compassion comes into play. I remind myself how much I’ve grown and how many people reach out and tell me my blog changed their lives. To date, Love Les is read across 120 countries. For everyone out there battling mental health, creativity, and vulnerability, trust yourself, trust your community, and trust your passion.

I am always looking for new interviewees. If you identify as queer and have a story to tell, I would love to hear from you!!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Honestly, there are so many resources I’ve learned along the way. When I started off, I didn’t research similar projects. I went off my instincts. Earlier on, it would have been immensely helpful if I would have deep-dived and researched queer projects that highlight storytelling, self-care, and safely navigating life inside and outside the closet. I wish I found individuals like Blair Imani and thought about extending my blog to religious voices outside my own.

Another thing that would have helped was training. I’m currently enrolled in an LBGTQ suicide prevention program to become a counselor for The Trevor Project. I wish I pursued this earlier on. Holding spaces for people’s stories is vulnerable. Sometimes, I speak with people who just want to tell me their story because they’ve never shared it before. Sometimes, people reach out and ask if they can use Love Les to come out. Other times, I have closeted individuals reach out to me and ask if I could help mentor them.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve already highlighted mental health, but I’ll go a little more in-depth. I was diagnosed with GAD and depression during my Masters’s program. I didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to understand I was experiencing a mental health attack. On one of my worse days before my diagnosis, I had a panic attack at work – an afterschool program for elementary students – and laid on the bathroom floors that was covered in littered paper towels and what I can only hope was water. Medication, yoga, and counseling have made an immense impact on my life however, mental health is a journey. I have bad days, weeks, sometimes months. One of the things I think truly shows resilience is the periods when depression hits hard and I take a break off from my creative endeavors. If you go through the Love Les archives, you’ll find months without posts. I used to feel disappointed with myself for not “pushing through” or “fighting hard enough.” I look at those breaks between posts now as stretchmarks highlighting the blog’s rivers of growth and streams of resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.loveles.co
• Instagram: Leslieann370
• Facebook: LoveLesStories
• Twitter: loveles_loveles