“The Pride Month of June (celebrated most everywhere but in the Coachella Valley, which honors it when the heat is less intense, in November) is important for many reasons. It’s not just a time for celebrating openly en masse at parades throughout the world. It’s also an opportunity to look inward, reaffirm we are worthy, and get a boost of self-esteem.
LGBTQ+ people start our lives with a secret we’re not entirely conscious of, knowing something about us is different. We don’t name it because we’re usually too young to comprehend it, and somehow know to keep it to ourselves when we do figure it out.
We often conclude our secret is shameful and dangerous, and surmise we ourselves are shameful, learning to survive by bargaining, justifying, and making ourselves smaller. We carry our secret and shame until it almost breaks us…”
