JoJo Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but January 23 marked the anniversary of when she first posted a photo of herself in a shirt declaring her to be the “Best.
Gay. Cousin. Ever.” To commemorate the day, Siwa took to Instagram to share a series of photos and videos depicting her incredible year of queerness. “In the last 365 days I’ve felt more love than ever.
A year ago today I posted this picture and shared with the world that I was gay,” she began in the caption. Siwa went on to talk about the fear of coming out. “I get asked a lot ‘was coming out scary for you’… and the answer is yes of course, anything that’s different about you is scary, however… it’s what makes me… me.
so I had no fear [of] sharing it with the world,” she wrote. In coming out, Siwa says she found her purpose. “Truthfully I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for kids, and letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share [love],” she said.And in keeping with that mission, she closed her message on a note of acceptance and encouragement. “Please never forget that no matter who you are, what you look like, who you LOVE, that you are absolutely perfect,” Siwa wrote. “Thank you for showing me the most love throughout this year and throughout my entire life.