#quiet pride

Nobody can know.

You slip on your bracelet. It matches the sticker on your water bottle, and another on your bumper, and the flag in your profile.

Everybody has to know.

You go out. No one mentions the stubble. No one mentions the bracelet. And when you give the name you chose, they don't think it twice.

It's no difference.

But...

I hear you before I see you. A cough that catches you off guard doesn't quite match your well-trained voice. They don't notice, but it catches my ear; a glimpse of your bracelet as you brush hair behind your ear just confirms what I already felt beneath thought.

You're like me.

It's too brief for an exchange, for eye contact, even for you to notice me back. But it's just enough for you to give me something, something you wish you'd gotten from another stranger with a sticker and a voice years ago...

You give me hope.

You don't notice it passing between us; how could you? But it's everything. And I won't notice when I pass it on myself in a week, a month, a year or ten. But it's everything.

We're everything.

~ The Day After Pride

You can celebrate however you like, if you want to celebrate. I know some have trouble celebrating pride because they aren’t proud, or they feel like because of all the things happening in the world, there isn’t a reason to celebrate. And those are valid feelings and valid reasons not to celebrate.

And it’s okay to not be able to celebrate because of safety. If it’s not safe for you to have a pride flag, or use your real name and pronouns or openly date the person you love. Safety always comes first. And if you can’t celebrate in real life, you always have the internet community to celebrate with

Me and my sister are both trans, I am far to active and open about my experience than she is. She’s quiet and the only gay event thing she’s ever really done is go see the pride parade with her friends. And that’s okay. Because everyone’s experience is different.