This month is pride month, something I’ve been quietly celebrating by myself for almost six years now!
Since in my hometown I have never been able to attend any pride events, I was looking forward to attending college in Boston and being able to finally go to the pride parade in Boston. However, I hadn’t realized that last year, the Boston Pride organization had shut down due to inclusion concerns. Thus, this year, there wasn’t a 2022 Boston Pride Parade.
While I was a little disappointed when I first found out since I had been looking forward to it for such a long time, I’ve found my own ways to celebrate how I always have. Pride has always been tough for me to learn to have about who I am. So, I’ve spent a lot of time looking out for LGBTQIA+ members of the APIDA community that I can look up to this month.
The most fulfilling thing for me was just getting to know and be friends with fellow LGBTQIA+ APIDA peers, and being able to talk so openly and casually talk about it with each other. I also had friends who are not LGBTQIA+ specifically message me and wish me a happy pride month on the first day of June, which still makes me smile. The casualness of pride and how it can just exist in my life now is not something I was able to have before, and so even without a big parade to celebrate, I feel like I am not missing much – I’m delighted to have what I do!
