Attend a Gay Pride Event

“At one point, I got a little annoyed because it was so difficult to get through the crowds of visitors and reach the parade itself. A trip that would normally take me 20 minutes wound up taking over an hour and a half. At one point, I was about to complain about this to my friends, when I realized how petty that would be. How could I complain about needing a little extra time to get around the city when the delays had been caused by the enormous numbers of people who had to come to be part of the celebration? Aside from that very brief spell of irritation, I had an amazing time throughout the weekend. I danced, drank, hung out with old friends and met new people — and not once did I feel the need to contain the LGBT side of myself.”

“I was 16 when I went to Atlanta Pride. I had come out to my mom when I was 13 when she asked me if I was gay and I said yes. I went to Pride with a guy who someone fixed me up with. We were not into each other at all, but we are still friends now. Pride was super fun for a suburban teen — there were lots of people to see and lots of walking around but I didn’t know anything about the city or parking, so I parked at a furniture store in Midtown, thinking that everyone loved Pride because it was Midtown and festive, but boy was I wrong. Came back and the car was gone. I then found out that it was a tow company in South Atlanta and it was $120 cash to get the car back.”

“I met up with a few other GSA members from my school, and we took the regional rail from our quiet suburb into Philly. Everyone else on the train was as equally decked out in rainbow clothing as we were, and my excitement only grew as the train came closer to Philadelphia. As we walked through Philly, I knew I was in the right place. All around me were people in colorful makeup, crop tops, and Pride flags. As I went through the crowded Gayborhood, we saw the Flaggots practicing and drag queens interacting with event goers as queer music played everywhere. My friends and I chose a spot along the parade route, and then the parade began. As I watched the floats come by with people dancing on them and throwing out free things into the crowds, I cheered them on and caught as many freebies as I could.”