When I’m asked, “What does Pride mean to you?” my mind immediately dances through every queer moment I’ve ever experienced. I think about the excitement, the joy, the disappointment, and even the heartbreak. But when I narrow down my thoughts, I come back to one thing: being part of the LGBTQ+ community has changed my life forever.
By definition, pride is the quality or state of being proud—having confidence, self-respect, and satisfaction in oneself. By nature, I’m not the most confident person, but I am incredibly proud to be a lesbian.
People sometimes ask me, “Why?”
My answer is always the same: because I feel free.
For so long, I hid who I was. I knew I wasn’t straight as early as fifth grade, but I didn’t come out to my friends until eighth grade. I didn’t come out publicly or to my family until the winter of 2014. The moment I finally spoke my truth, I felt a freedom I had never experienced before.
Just a few months later, marriage equality became the law of the land, and I remember feeling immense pride that day. I still carry that pride with me every single day. Even during difficult times, and even as our community continues to face challenges, I’ve learned something important: if we lose our sense of pride, our hope, and our community, we risk losing that feeling of freedom altogether.
To me, Pride means community.
It means love.
It means heartbreak.
But above all, it means truth, living in your beautiful truth.
Pride is more than just a month. We deserve to be celebrated every day of the year. We deserve to celebrate our friendships, our relationships, and the people who support and love us exactly as we are.
To me, Pride is about defying the boundaries that have been placed on us since we were children. It’s about breaking gender norms. It’s about breaking the mold. It’s about ending cycles and creating a world where people can simply be themselves.
Pride Month serves as a reminder that we exist, and that we belong. Every day, many of us face challenges in our personal lives and in the world around us. Yet we continue to take up space, and we do it beautifully. We deserve that space.
We bring color to this world. We bring perspective. We bring creativity, compassion, and diversity to every space we enter.
Pride also reminds me of heartbreak.
Coming out and falling in love doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes all rainbows and butterflies. We experience breakups. We lose relationships. Some of us endure toxic partnerships and painful endings. Heartbreak is part of being human.
But even through all of it, we continue to love.
We love deeply.
We love boldly.
And we love loudly.
To me, Pride means being 100% myself.
And after spending so many years hiding, that is something worth celebrating, not just in June, but every single day.
