Happy Pride.
So, along with my other natural traits of being right-handed, except when I use scissors with my left hand, being a tall version of a short person at 5’7” (my mother swore to me that once I was a Bar Mitzvah I would have a growth spurt and wake up one day with my legs hanging over my bed), having boring brown eyes and straight boring brown hair (which so far has remained brown and not turned gray, albeit not a lot of hair)…I happened to be born a homosexual.
Recognizing this homosexual “thingie” was not as easy as adjusting to, say, understanding that one glass of wine makes me sleepy, spicy food makes me sick, or riding roller coasters makes me throw up. I knew I had a secret, and depending on my age at the time, I either thought that this secret would suddenly vanish, or I contemplated that if my secret were told, I might vanish. Neither found fruition, and one day, way later in my life, my secret became my life, and my life became better.
I used to permit others to identify me; that alone was a burden, added on to all of the “junk” we collect from being kids to adolescents to adults. Pride in ourselves, I believe, begins with ourselves, and once that pride takes shape, it is easier to share the pride with others.
So, as Pride month is upon us, I say Happy Pride for those of us who know who we truly are, from birth until the many tomorrows we shall live.
