1.
"Don't be afraid to be who you are. Show who you are without being afraid of being criticized. Your sexuality doesn't make you a deviant." - Pedro Ribeiro
2.
"You can be gay, it's ok! Everyone is different and the world is not entirely hetero." - Gabriel
3.
"There are a lot of nice people out there; you will end up finding these people, and they will find you. Use the internet, it can be your friend." - Silvia Gomide Gurgel
4.
"I wish someone had told me that as soon as I stopped hating myself, everything would begin to get a little bit easier. There are a lot of people like me, and I'm not alone." - Anonymous
5.
"Don't be afraid of prejudice. And you don't have to hide yourself for years, as if you were a criminal on the run, just for being gay." - Gustavo Campos
6.
"If God made me this way and he is all loving, I shouldn't be afraid of being punished. He was the one who made me and he wants me to be happy just how I am. I can practice my faith and still be the person I am." - Nelson
7.
"I wish someone had told me I don't need to be cured."- André Luís Ferreira
8.
"Don't cry because they shouted at you when you said you wanted to be a dancer. One day, you'll be able to dance as much as you want, without being afraid of being happy, and understand that boys can do ballet too." - Anonymous
9.
"Other people's acceptance comes second. What you need to do is accept yourself." - Anonymous
10.
"Don't try to be someone you're not. It will only hurt you and make you miserable. And anyone who truly likes and cares for you will never be happy seeing you that way" - Eloadir Gomes Neto
11.
"Live out all the stages of life. Let yourself fall in love with boys. Have a boyfriend, fall madly in love with him. Time is valuable, and each stage is important." - Matheus F. da Paz
12.
"You can play with a doll if you want. The doll is beautiful, just like you. And don't listen to anyone who says that playing ball is a guy thing or that dolls, the color pink, skirts, and makeup are gay." - Fernando Salomè Miranda
13.
"I wish someone had told me that I didn't have to force myself to like men in order not to make my mother ashamed." - Anonymous
14.
"It's normal to like men and women. Not everyone likes people from just one gender. Even though a lot of people deny it, bisexuality exists." - Anonymous
15.
"It won't be easy. Many of us would rather feel the pain of loneliness than love ourselves just the way we are. And that's not your fault. "-Madson Begot
16.
"I wish I had told myself that trans people existed. That way, I would have understood the feelings I spent years feeling without knowing what they were much earlier." - Fer Coelho
17.
"It's not a phase." - Anonymous
18.
"Someone in the world will love you exactly the way you are. Actually, he is going to love you exactly because you are the way you are!" - Liniker Oliveira
19.
"If you accept it, it will make you feel so good!" - Raphael Marques
20.
"Be strong, because you will become an amazing person who will fight for your rights, who will have wonderful friends, and who will understand that being gay is just as natural as the wind that blows upon your face every day."- Maick Ferreira
21.
Quotes taken from responses to a BuzzFeed Brasil post asking LGBT readers what advice they wish someone had told them when they were younger.
This post was translated from Portuguese.