I'm so glad I got this out before the end of the month. Been super busy but I wanted to make sure I at least finished this.

Pride means a lot to me. I'm a trans man and pansexual. Pride helped me understand myself. I came from a very Christian household, and was afraid of myself for many years. It wasn't until after I had moved to Seattle and encountered others in the LGBT community that I found the courage to accept myself. Pride, and how openly it was celebrated in Seattle was part of that.

It's so great that Pride is so widely celebrated now, because it wasn't always this way. We've made heaps of progress, and still have a long ways to go.

Always remember that Pride is not just a party. It has roots in protest. It's so great that I can walk around in public during this month and see the heaps of support in local shops, on the street, and in the world. But we need to remember that there are still LGBT youth who have lost their families and homes because they dared to be who they were. There are still people losing their jobs, people who are in danger just for being themselves.

We deserve to be safe, we deserve the same rights as everyone else, and we deserve to be proud of who and what we are.

Thank you everyone who supports us, every year we march a little bit towards progress, and we need to keep going.