The day after Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States, I made the decision to officially come out of the closet as pansexual.

To be fair, it wasn't a huge deal where my friends were involved -- my family, however, was not aware. When I posted to Facebook my big reveal, to my happy surprise most of my family was very supportive and loving, accepting me unconditionally and loving me no matter what. My friends as well were very accepting and proud. Not everyone supported my decision, but I knew that would happen, and I will have to be okay with that.

However, there is another aspect of sexualities and coming out that I don't have to be okay with: the idea that bisexual and pansexual people are conflicted. Confused. Can't make a decision.

And that's so... entirely wrong.

There has been a lot of recent discussion about gender (as a social construct) being more of a spectrum than a more binary-based system, as biological sex is. Someone can identify as a male or female (which is termed cisgender, meaning that you identify with what your biological sex dictates) but they can also identify as genderfluid (which means the person does not feel entirely male or female at any given time) or any other term and point on the spectrum that they feel comfortable with.This also encompasses trans persons, who can identify as a different biological sex than they were born with and can choose to transition to that sex or just remain identifying as that sex.

Though not everyone accepts that gender and sex are two different things, the rise of awareness of things like genderfluidity has created new terms, one of them being "pansexual." The prefix pan-, meaning all, creates a term for sexuality that encompasses every gender identity. This includes trans, non-binary, and genderfluid identifying people, as well as those who identify themselves as cisgendered and everything in between.

Essentially, I can love someone no matter how they identify.

This causes a lot of dissent in both the gay and straight communities, unfortunately. Bisexuals getting ragged on and being told to "just make up their minds" is a more commonly known problem, only because sometimes the term "pansexual" isn't even accepted. Yet. The term's coinage is still fairly new and not entirely accepted, nor is the idea behind the term. However, I have high hopes that the idea of loving someone regardless of their gender identity, as well as the whole idea of the gender spectrum, will someday be more widely accepted. Though this may take time, I hold firm to what I believe in and know that what I feel in my heart can't be wrong.

There are people who think that bisexuals and pansexuals need to "just choose." This fallacy, however, disregards the entire concept of what bisexuality (and pansexuality) is, in the sense that we do feel physical and emotional attraction to the sexes. Pansexuality is a more all-encompassing term, as the prefix bi- of bisexuality, meaning two, hints at the idea that there are only two sides of their attraction. However, feeling attraction to both (or all) sexes and/or gender identities does not make us confused or indecisive. We, closeted or not for reasons that are all personal decisions, have learned to be comfortable with our attractions.

I personally have been in relationships with and even loved on nearly every point on the spectrum. My personal stories prove, at least to me, that love is love. Though I may not be accepted everywhere I go for what I believe in and know to be true about myself, in my heart, anyone can be fair game. That doesn't make me indecisive or conflicted, it makes me open and strong. I am proud to openly call myself pansexual, and will continue to advocate for the acceptance of how I and others feel for as long as I can rally.

We don't need to make up our minds. It is others who perhaps need to open theirs.