Lauren Elizabeth Neidigh

A gay swimmer on her struggles with depression and how it relates to being LGBTQ in sports.

Lauren Neidigh has found the adjustment difficult at times and finds that "school is the new swimming for me."

"The people I met gave me the strength to reflect on parts my life that I have avoided for a long time."

"I’m a woman who is still fighting through a hard past. That makes me feel comfortable enough to feel like I deserve to be equal with men."

GO! Athletes has a new board of directors, and they are making a push to connect with as many LGBT athletes, particularly in high school and college, as they can.

"You may not have realized it yet, but we need your help. Each one of us, even those who haven't come out yet, is a unique piece of the LGBT sports movement. Being in the closet is like benching your best self. We need you first-string, because no one else can play your position."

"Coming out is a powerful experience because it shows that you are willing to be different," Lauren Neidigh says.

"I realize that now that I don’t have weight on my shoulders to keep my head down," Lauren Elizabeth Neidigh writes. After she comes out, she finds an inner peace that was lacking.