What is your Pride?

I was thinking today, about the term Pride. I asked myself What does pride mean.. what is pride?

I came to the conclusion that Pride is different for everyone, and Every person will have a different answer.

For me, it's hard questioning its place and its significance. My Pride is a symbol of obstacles I have overcome, a hybrid of my own accomplishments in life and the dedication of my friends that helped me achieve them. Its the Freedom to be who I am, to be accepted by those who are friends and family, and for those who helped me find my way when I was lost.

In a sense those that have helped me are my pride, for without them I would not be who I am today.


What does Pride mean for you?

Love to hear it.

Great topic, Kefir!

For me, Pride has morphed. When I was in my teens, it wasn't quite acceptable yet to be gay in Canada. Certainly it was becoming easier given the activist work that was being done, and society was making it a lot easier to be accepted as Gay. I remember I had a few friends who encouraged me to start getting involved in the community, and after I was at a writer's colony a poet, Liz Phillips, encouraged me further to get involved and to get out and meet people. And that's around the time I joined my first Pride Committee.

And lucky for me, certain guiding forces in the universe thought it comic to involve my Dad's church in the organization as part of putting together the first parade ever in our province. So, I had to come out to my family. Sorry to say, everyone was really accepting! And I got uber involved in Pride here for two or three years.

It was amazing to see life from that side of the fence. Suddenly I had no reason to hide who I was. And I was in the company of other individuals who felt the same. I met some amazing, and some not-so-amazing people, and did a lot of young and crazy things.

One thing I know is that Pride for me used to be something I sweat our my skin. I think we all go through transitions and come to places where we rest comfortably in our knowledge and wisdom (even though we never stop growing). For me it was growing through being gay, to "gay" being a part of who I am as a human being. It used to be what I was about, now it's a part of who I am. I'm just as proud of the fact that I have made accomplishments in my life and try to be a good person. I think that's all any of us can do.

The key is to actively involve one's self in one's own life, I think. If we wait for the invitation, it will never show up. I had to get myself to the dance, as we all do.

Thankfully, my scope of friends and family is now increased thanks to Second Life and Second Pride!