Going to a pride festival as a member of the LGBTQ community (especially for the first time) is like discovering a home you did not know you had lost. Among the people, the flags, the colors, you look around to find that there are people like you; there are troves of them. And for once, you feel that you don't stick out like a sore thumb in world full of index fingers pointing directly at you.
People are laughing and cheering, girls are kissing, boys are cuddling, young kids are smiling and waving flags. It's been 46 years after Stonewall. On June 26th, 2015, generations of people who have grown up living in the shadow of that day are feeling something they never thought they would. I must be a bad writer because I can't quite think of an adequate word that can justifiably describe it. Just look at us; you will feel it too.
Yet this is one step. One step toward the bigger picture. You can still be fired for being LGBT in most states. Trans individuals are all but abandoned by their healthcare providers. Trans people of color are being murdered every month. LGBT education in schools is non-existent. Accurate and rounded character representation for individuals who aren't gay, male and white, in media, film, and television is just barely getting off the ground. The list is long enough that we still have our work cut out for us. Here's hoping that marriage equality is the first domino.
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