#;pride

Pride is about loving who we are, however we can, whenever we can. if you're out and you have a supportive, loving network of people, i'm proud of you and i'm happy for you.

if you’re only out sometimes, or not fully, i’m proud of you.

if you aren't out for any reason, any reason at all, i'm proud of you. Pride still belongs to you.

sometimes we can't be out and sometimes we don't want to be out - sometimes protecting ourselves in one way still hurts in another way, and nobody gets to decide how out you are, or how you can celebrate yourself, or if you're suffered enough to call Pride yours.

it's yours.

however you identify, openly or not, if you’re not cisgender heterosexual heteroromantic - it’s yours.

this isn’t to say that it always works out like this. sometimes, people don’t learn and grow and change, and i will be the first person to say that if someone isn’t making the effort, you don’t owe them shit. my biological dad didn’t make an effort for a long time. he told me that he was disappointed in me and couldn’t support my decisions, and i didn’t talk to him for years. he’s been trying lately, and i’m letting him try, but that’s my choice.

i guess what i’m saying is, sometimes it does get better. sometimes it doesn’t. at the end of the day, it’s your choice - 100% your choice - on whether you let people who have hurt you in the past have the chance to make amends. if they really are sorry, and they really do want to make things right, they’ll accept if you aren’t ready, or you’re never ready. if they don’t accept that, they’re trying to make themselves feel better, not you, and you are under no obligation to let them.

my very first tattoo! <3 it was really important to me to get a Pride tattoo for my first one, and i love how it turned out. i wanted something simple, iconic, and mike davis at brand x in longview, wa definitely delivered!

/watches you from a distance; …smh