I came out of the closet at 12 years of age to a liberal family in a large city, I have always been proud of who I am, and who I love. Never Was I told to be ashamed of who I am, so to me pride for the most part is just an excuse to party. Or at least this is what I thought until a few years ago.
I moved to Toronto a few years back from Ottawa and have traveled across this country, I have friends in every large city, and acquaintances scattered about. A few prides back I remember being on the CTV float looking out onto the sea of people throwing beads at screaming scantly clad queers. Along the route I saw people I knew from every corner of the country all gathered together in Toronto for pride. It’s easy being in a big city that is accepting and celebratory of diversity to forget that you are part of a relatively small community.
Pride to me is a bold reminder that we are small, but together we are great. It’s a reason for the community to gather from far and wide to come together to celebrate our uniqueness. For a moment I thought of what it must be like to be from a small town, coming into the big city to be around so many like minded people. Although I have never had that feeling I can sympathise and understand the importance of pride. From atop that float I could see a sea of men, women, and children all here to embrace diversity and the sense of community. I warmly welcomed them home.