Happy Pride Month to all LGBTQ+ people! 🏳️🌈
This artwork carries an important message for everyone who has faced homophobia, judgment, or is still learning to accept themselves.
The hands symbolize support, care, and a safe space. The butterflies of different colors represent the diversity of people, their uniqueness, and their right to be themselves. As they rise from the hands and fly upward, they symbolize the journey toward freedom, self-acceptance, and a life without fear.
The quote “Freedom is the oxygen of the soul” means that the freedom to be yourself is just as essential as oxygen is for life. No one should feel forced to hide who they are in order to be safe or accepted. At the same time, every person has the right to decide when, how, and with whom they choose to share that part of themselves.
This artwork is dedicated to everyone who is still discovering themselves, learning to love themselves, or continuing to fight for the right to live openly and happily. 💜🏳️🌈
In honor of Pride Month, I would also like to share the story of my first coming out.
You could say that I realized quite early that I wasn't attracted to boys. Ever since I was a child, I admired girls, while boys always felt distant and unfamiliar to me.
My first coming out happened when I was in 7th grade. I was in love with my best friend and decided to tell her how I felt. Although my feelings weren't returned, she later accepted my sexual orientation. With each passing year, I became a little braver. New people entered my life, I experienced my first relationship, and I made new friends who made me feel comfortable and accepted. Talking about my orientation gradually became easier.
Today, I am surrounded by amazing friends I once could only dream of having. You could say that I am 98% “out of the closet.” My parents and relatives still don't know about my orientation, and I believe that not everyone is entitled to know the details of someone else's personal life.
I believe that coming out should first and foremost happen with people who make you feel comfortable and safe—people who feel like home. For me, family is my wonderful girlfriend and my closest friends.
And remember: your safety should always come first. Sometimes coming out can have difficult consequences, which is why it's important to take that step only when you feel ready and only when it is safe for you to do so. 🫂🏳️🌈