YEET ME TO MARS

Today, finally home from travels, I was playing a Nancy Drew game and my partner comes in saying "you forgot your co-detective" and hands me Drew.

So basically what I'm saying is don't settle for someone who doesn't wordlessly lock in on a rock you find pretty.

So all silly gaydar aside, it's actually been such an encouraging thing to be a part of. I made the posted paperwork in different pride flag colours all month (rainbow, bi, lesbian, gay, trans/enby) and made the whiteboard rainbow and several associates told me how excited they got.

My company is supportive of the elgeebeegees, but that doesn't mean that they have it represented in every store and especially in leadership. And our customer base tends to be tradfamilies, which is often reflected in a lot of management. So as stressful as it is to help manage a retail store, it's honestly been such a highlight to be a confident elder queer who makes the younger queer feel more comfortable. That alone has been the highlight of getting promoted. And all frustrations aside, I feel overwhelmingly grateful to be in a workplace where upon finding out I'm queer, my higher-up asks my consent to send a memo to leadership with my pronouns so she can be sure everyone speaks of me correctly and respectfully. I eventually found out my boss had actually fired someone in the past for deliberately using the wrong name/pronouns on a trans employee.

Idk what the point of this post is beside sharing my warm fuzzies after so many years of abuse aimed at me being queer, and just saying that if you have a job where you're not respected, better is out there. Better employers, teams, management. Even in the depths of retail where you'll likely be misgendered or etc, there are great humans and supportive environments that respect you.

And with my half-year review coming up and the impending question of what I'm most proud of about the impact of being in my role so far, I know it's going to be a real spin to say the truth. But I'm still going to do it. I make dozens of customers feel comfy in the space every day, but I'm far more proud of helping quiet voices feel comfortable speaking up to me in private. Being in a spot where most of your coworkers are straight and cis and openly talking about their life, it's terrifying to talk about the truth of what your life looks like.

Of course, they'll add it to their quote index, and if it's ever challenged back to them later, you're a liar and a fool for staying with them if you think they're abusive.