Share Your Sparkle

On the last day of Pride month, I am practicing gratitude for all the love and fun and glitter I've enjoyed. I closed out the month the same way I started - eating a slice of rainbow cake in the driveway watching the sun go down.

The first time I celebrated myself as part of the queer community, I sought out The Gay cupcake from Cupcake Royale in Seattle. It was how I honored the decision to share my true authentic self with the world. I'm so glad I did. Living out loud is the best way to do anything.

Pride in Seattle is magical. It was the city where I went to my very first pride, still suppressing and dismissing my open attraction for all genders. There are several celebrations throughout the whole month of June, and the rest of the year!

Last week I drove two hours North of my home in SW Washington for a morale week at work. My office and Airbnb were located in Renton, where we had a cross-department BBQ at Lake Washington, and raced cars and played mini-golf at the fun center. There was one very important meeting to attend, but I was most interested in connecting with the Pride ERG and all the other queer wizards.

One activity was walking in the Pride parade on Sunday. I was worried this would drain too much energy from me, a concern I often have with fatigue as a symptom of PTSD, but I was ALIVE. I blew bubbles for hours and cheered “happy pride” while handing out freebies from the company.

On Saturday, the Cap Hill neighborhood had three giant block parties all around the corner from each other, complete with multiple stages and performers. It felt like a festival! A couple friends of mine who moved up to Seattle for music (shout out to @TerraNobody) came out to celebrate with me. The night before, Terra Nobody had a show in Fremont. That Friday was also the day the Supreme Court overturned the ability for women to have safe and legal abortions.

(As of 8 minutes ago when writing this, the Supreme Court also limited the power of the EPA to control pollution. They really trying to kill us.)

Needless to say, it was a challenging day. I disassociated to keep from feeling completely defeated. I already fought this fight and marched this march and so have thousands of women decades before me. It was really cathartic to go yell “this body is mine and my mind is divine” - a lyric from one of my friend’s songs - in a crowd of people. Receiving emails with actions to take from Women's March, Planned Parenthood, NAACP, Desiree Adaway, The Anti-Racist Table Community, SURJ and Change.org helped a lot, too.

To ground myself in preparation for a very full weekend of activities and activism - I called my sponsor, walked in the sand at Alki beach, and went back to Cupcake Royale for a rainbow cupcake.

Fun fact: This is the same shirt I wore to my first Pride before coming out!

It's a whirlwind to be alive. I sit quietly and say thank you to finding moments of authenticity and joy. These moments recharge me. I hope everyone can connect with themselves and find these moments, too, so we can all share this feeling of love with others and make change in the world around us.

Tell me how what you're doing to stay connected to yourself and how you're reacting to the Supreme Court's decision here.