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One of many sports figures to come out this year, Simon Thibodeau became one of just a handful of openly gay NCAA Division 1 head coaches when he made his announcement to his team at the University of California - Santa Barbara.  The reaction of his team is indicative about the lay of the land for LGBT people at the moment:  There was awkward silence, mostly stemming from surprise. One player applauded. The rest smiled, shrugged and wondered about the summer schedule.  "No one thought it was a big deal," said Erica Cano, captain of last year's team and now an assistant coach. "All this big buildup, then: 'Oh. O.K.' "  To Thibodeau's college players, perhaps, it was not a big deal. But to him, it was a life-altering moment after years of inner turmoil.

40-year-old Thibodeau proves that it's never too late to start living your truth.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was thrust into the spotlight in January after making headlines as the man behind an elaborate hoax targeting Notre Dame player Manti Te'o.  Tuiasosopo told Dr. Phil "yes" he was gay, but "confused". The hoax fueled rumors about Te'o's sexuality, prompting him to strongly deny he is gay to Kate Couric in an interview. "Far from it," he told Couric. "Faaaar from it."

The Te'o - Tuiasosopo also generated discussion about the lack of openly gay college and professional football players.

The frontman for the band Panic! At The Disco, Brendon Urie revealed to PrideSource in November that he, too, has a sexuality that is fluid, and has had relationships with both men and women.  Said Urie: "I find myself being attracted to dudes all the time. I'm like, 'Wow, that's a beautiful man.' There's no shame in it; that's how I feel. To stifle that would probably bring on stress and probably make somebody homophobic. I guess if I had to classify myself, I'd say I'm straight. But I have, in the past, experimented in other realms of homosexuality and bisexuality. Overall I'm more attracted to women. Like with my wife, I'm just so insanely in love and attracted to my wife that I go, "Well, OK, my love of musicals can't trump that I love pussy." (Laughs) It's fun to dabble!"

Desperate Housewives actor Tuc Watkins came out to Marie Osmond nonchalantly, on an episode of her talk show, also revealing that he is a single gay parent. "A lot of people at some point in their lives think, 'Am I going to be a parent? Do I want to be a parent?' And when I was young, I knew three things: I knew I was gay, I knew one day I was gonna be a dad, and I knew that Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was going to be the best movie of all time."

British actor Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Brideshead Revisited, Cloud Atlas) confirmed he's gay in August via a statement from a publicist about his marriage to Australian composer Mark Bradshaw.  Said Whishaw's spokesperson: Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work. Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy."

TODAY show weekend anchor Jenna Wolfe came out of the closet in an on-air announcement that she and her partner, NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, were having a baby and that she was carrying it.  Said Wolfe:  "This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to us. But I don't want to bring my daughter into a world where I'm not comfortable telling everyone who I am and who her mother is."  Wolfe's daughter Harper Estelle was born in August. She already has 7,600 Twitter followers.

WWE superstar Darren Young flew out of the closet at the prompting of a TMZ paparazzo in August upon arriving at LAX, Young was asked by TMZ whether a gay man could succeed in the WWE to which Young responded, "Absolutely. Look at me. I'm a WWE superstar and, to be honest with you, I'm gay." The confession caught the camera-man off guard and Young made instant headlines, fueling the ongoing dialogue about gays in professional sports.  World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. offered its support of Young following his statement:  The WWE is proud of Darren Young for being open about his sexuality, and we will continue to support him as a WWE Superstar."

Singer-songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs made the proud pronouncement in June in a blog post on Tumblr: "I am super gay."

She also announced that she was marrying her girlfriend Kristin Russo.  Said Owen Youngs:  I didn't want to come out. I don't want coming out to be a thing that anyone has to do.  A short list of things I'd rather be doing than "thinking about being gay" includes (but is not limited to) writing a song, reading a book, climbing a tree, dancing a jig, and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the zillionth time. Don't get me wrong - I think it is in the best interest of everyone to strive for a greater understanding of the self. I just wish that being gay (or transgender, or asexual, or fill-in-the-blank here) was as unremarkable to the masses as being left-handed or blonde. In a perfect world, nobody would have to experience any of the negative side-effects of figuring out that you're gay, which can include feeling confused, shameful, afraid, lost, or alone. In a perfect world, everyone could just like who they like, and get on with it.