"It wasn’t until I was 19 or 20 years old when went to my first gay club. I stumbled upon a drag show. It wasn’t hilarious, but I found it compelling, giggling on the inside. I was just sitting there, this weird dorky introverted geeky kid mesmerized, thinking WHAT IS THIS?? I thought I want to do this. I found my tribe of gay friends, and started playing around with makeup. I got in drag the first time, and I did the amateur show and I knew what it felt like to be proud of something. I was proud of what I did that night, and what it led to. The more I started doing the shows, the more I got deeper into the community, and I started hearing other people’s stories. That’s when I started being proud of being gay. I’m going to stand up for it. I’m going to be a forefront leader like I am with children. I’m going to be proud of who I am because I was made and designed specifically this way." - Alyssa Edwards