So, why does this matter? Too often, gay characters in film are shown coming out to one person, and we assume that everyone else just figures it out by osmosis. But in reality, coming out is a process that can take many forms. In other words, there are many ways to do it, and many people to come out to. You won't come out to your mom the same way you do to your friend. Some people will live for years keeping their sexual orientation secret from certain people in their lives while being out to others. None of those options are wrong. What Love, Simon manages to do by depicting multiple stages of coming is to show how difficult it is, even in 2018, without otherizing the experience.