The ‘glo up’ is something similar to the old ugly duck syndrome, a transformation from awkward, gangly teen to smoking hot in the senior years. It occurs either physically through the development of new ‘assets’ during puberty, or by simply gaining more self-acceptance and confidence to hold yourself with a degree of sass that was previously absent.

A good example of the latter is Caitlin Crowley from Naples, Florida. She tweeted before and after pics of herself, the ‘before’ being 4 years ago, with the caption: “Does this count as a glo up???”

Back in freshmen year, we can see her with her old friend Dylan in the first pic, but we can notice that romance is not on the cards based on the body language. They remained great friends nevertheless. However, the ‘now’ pic shows her confident, carefree and clearly in love with her girlfriend Kirrin Chew, who she has been dating for a year now.

Others with similar experiences started sharing their gay ‘glo up’ photos, inspired by the beauty of her transformation and obvious happiness since ‘coming out’. The posts show many young people that may have been struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, and that coming out can also be a joyful and liberating experience.

You can check out the people’s pictures and experiences below!