Pride

Pride.

There are many things that have happend in my life that I can say I am proud of. I'm proud to be the only one in my family to go to college. I'm proud of the friendships I've made. I'm proud of the work I do. Yet, recently I can honestly say that I have never been proud to call myself gay.

Gay. Queer. Fag. Homo. Whatever term you choose, I wasn't proud to be associated with any of it. To me it meant nothing but bad things.

Well, today I went to my first ever Pride Festival. I had a notion of what it might be like in my head, but I was so wrong. Some of the things that I was expecting were there. Gays of course. Some in very little clothing, but what I didn't expect was the huge amount of what I suppose I would label "normal" people.

I guess I was expecting to see a bunch of flamingly gay men running around interspersed with Drag Queens and lesbians. Yet, what I found was a community of people just like any other. A community that was celebrating their differences and trying to bring about change.

See, my view of the gay world is still very skewed. All I know is what I've been taught by society and what limited experience I've had in my two short years of being out and in the community. All I know is Grindr and clubs. Today that view changed. I know that the world I've seen is part of the gay community, but I also forget how normal we all are even with our differences.

As I was watching the parade I quickly came to realize that there are a lot of people out there who really don't care that I'm gay. Actually, they even support the fact. Everything from churches, to bars, to corporations, to politicians marched passed me. All letting me know that it's totally okay that I like men.

It made me actually want to get involved. It made me want to become a bigger part of this new community that has accepted me into their ranks. It made me proud.

I know the gay community is FAR from perfect, but honestly what community is perfect? There is no utopian community out there that can claim that. Today, though, I cam to realize that even with all the imperfections the gay community has I wouldn't want it any other way.

It's a community that has existed forever, but has been hidden away for so long. In just the last few decades so much work has been done. We've fought and battled and have now become what some may consider "The Final Frontier" of the civil rights movement.

Today even help qualm some of the fears I have about coming out to my parents. Today I realized that being gay doesn't automatically make you a slut. You're not automatically going to get AIDS.

Today gave me hope of living the much more normal life I've always wanted for myself. Not normal in the sense of being straight, but normal in the sense that one of the biggest things that has always made me different isn't really all that different. There are a lot of people out there just like me, people who live lives just like I want.

Today, I can finally say that I'm proud to be who I am. 

I'm proud to be gay.