I feel like a coward! how did you guys deal with being out when you realized you were gay/bisexual?

i'm out to myself and to a few people and i'm also starting a LGBT self help group at my school which i'm extremely excited about. thing is, even though i'm starting this group, somebody who sits next to me in my class said they think being bisexual is gross, slutty and it flat out does not exist. well maybe 10 years ago i would have agreed with her when i was a closet case and in denial of who i was, but a month after my 24th birthday, i realized that i am truly bisexual, that i have a 50/50 interest in both men and women. i know this is not a phase, i've secretly known since i was little, or as young as i can remember, watching both Hercules and Xena warrior princess and wanting to be with Hercules and then watch Xena and feel the same way as i felt towards Hercules. She also said that homosexuality is wrong and gross, that its all a big sin and unnatural. now a part of me feels like i've just died a little because i did not correct her at all, i just smiled and nodded at what she said, even though she told me that i was not really ADD i was just calling it upon myself. so yes i know she is a kooky christian lady(i'm from Texas by the way, bible belt homophobe central) so i know that her words shouldn't get to me, but they do, and i can't help but feel that majority of people at my school feel this way, especially towards people who are bi! how did you guys act when you first came out, were you fierce fighters for equality and stood proud, or did you barely make a sound when people said things? how did you deal with coming out, do you get more alright with who you are the longer you are out? there are days when i feel that i would be totally easier to just stay in the closet and suppress my feelings for both as i did before, but then again i don't because when i did that i got up to 380 pounds, i've lost 120 of it, which helped me come out! need advice big time!