This is technically my 3rd year celebrating Pride month but really, it feels like my first.  Something is different this year. Maybe it has to do with finally embracing who I am and having the courage to share myself with the world. Maybe Pride feels different because I am not longer in the closet.

Yesterday, while on a walk, I talked with my kids about what we are celebrating this month. I told them this month is about celebrating people being their authentic selves. My son started stealing his little sisters dresses last fall. For Christmas, he got to pick out his own skirt as one of his presents. He loves that skirt. He loves the rainbows on it. He loves how it twirls around him. He loved wearing it to the museum and preschool. And people love seeing him in it. I could see their faces light up when they saw how full of joy and confidence he is in it. When I was talking with him about Pride month, I said something to him that I have never said before. I gently ask him “Did you know that there are some people that say boys can’t wear skirts?”. He responded with confidence “I am a boy and I love wearing skirts.” I then assured him that we are celebrating that people  can wear clothing that makes them happy. I told him that we are celebrating that people can be whatever gender they know they are, not the one a doctor gave them at birth. We are celebrating that families can look different, they can have two moms or two dads. They can have one mom and one dad. They can even have three or more parents.

It’s not easy to be ourselves. There are people that may hurt us or make fun of us for being ourselves. When we hide who we are, we give people control of us that they have no right to wield. We die a little inside every time we submit to those expectations. The world becomes a little darker and less colorful.

This month is a time that we celebrate all the vulnerable people who paved the way for us today to be free to express ourselves in the ways that feel most natural. They path they paved is not just for the queer community. It for everyone. We all benefit when we makes the lives of marginalized people better.