I want to share with you the joy-filled life I live as a lesbian in Ethiopia.

I met my wife during the period when hatred against the queer community in Ethiopia was at its worst. We talked for more than a month before deciding to take the risk of meeting each other. I was very impressed with the way she chose and arranged her words, and her ideas and way of thinking constantly amazed me. I felt like we had the same ways of thinking and even the same sense of humor, though I told myself, “Wait, maybe this is just her Facebook personality; maybe she’s not the same person in reality; maybe this is her virtual personality.”.

Then we decided to meet. God, I was not disappointed; she met all my hopes and expectations. A beautiful, tall lady with a warm voice… I was very impressed with her looks and style—wide pants and a jacket. She looked wonderful in black.

Then we started talking. Boredom did not creep into me, not even for a second. I found myself talking a lot and really enjoying the conversation. This is very rare for me. I am the kind of person who gets bored quickly, but that did not happen with her. I was enjoying the conversation. We discussed many things in our queer community. I found her completing my incomplete sentences, organizing my thoughts, and even saying what I was thinking about. “Bicha mn alefachu and aynet sew belun” (“To keep it short, it was like we were the same people.”)

This phrase suits her the best: She was the right person at the right time. I thanked God hundreds of times that day; all I ever wanted was fully found in one person. It was truly worth the risk at that time.

Today, we live together. I wake up every day next to the woman I love and was amazed by, and I still feel the same harmony I felt with her on the first day.

Day in and day out, I can see how fast her love grows; her actions and deeds speak love. Her actions say it all, and it is found in the way she wakes up early in the morning to prepare breakfast, in the way that I find dinner ready when I come home from work, in how she takes good care of me every time I get sick, in the way she pays close attention to preparing healthy food that suits me, and in so many other ways…

I love the beautiful times we spend together at home, watching Tik Tok together, simply talking about anything and everything while drinking coffee together, and spending cold nights under the same blanket with her arms around me and discussing our future. 

The thing I love most about us is our focus on the future instead of the past, making plans, and how we envision what our lives will look like in the future to withstand everything that may face us.

I feel like I am the happiest woman now; this life with her is full of peace, love, and understanding. And this is everything I have ever wanted.

This queer community has wonderful people who understand the meaning of life and strive to have a peaceful life. I hope that everyone in this community gets the life they seek.

I hope we are all able to calm down, discuss, and understand that our lives are beautiful when we are with the right people.