Dallas Pride 2018

Another successful Dallas Pride has come and gone. It definitely was one to remember for many reasons. There were many firsts for me this past weekend. I attended for the first time, the Pride Festival that was held at Reverchon Park. I went to my first Pride Pool party. Attended a Bear Pride dance and finished the weekend with attending the Pride Parade.

Now if you read my last post, I definitely had a new outlook and what I wanted to get out of Pride. I wanted more to embrace what Pride really is and enjoy being around the people that all want the same things. To feel a part of something, to feel loved, and to be accepted. Looking back over the weekend, I truly feel that I achieved that.

My official celebration of Pride started on Saturday. A friend and I started off at the Pride Festival. When we walked in we were actually surprised with how big and busy it was. The pretty cool thing was seeing people of all ages. Some people went all out where very interesting costumes. I saw a lot of people bearing all types of flags: the traditional Pride flag, Transgender, Bi-sexual, and bear. I appreciated the fact that even though we all probably have our own places where we feel comfortable going, everyone gathered to this one place to celebrate each other. Another thing I saw was that there were a lot of younger people with their families. It was truly a sight to see. Families doing what families are supposed to do; love unconditionally and support one another. This had started that feeling that I wanted to accomplish.

We started off at the Texas Tech LGBTQIA booth. If you didn't know by now, my Alma Mater! If you know Lubbock, TX they have come a long way in terms of accepting homosexuality. Having a group on campus like this makes me very proud to know that there is a growing acceptance on campus and throughout Lubbock. We walked around and got a lot of information from many booths and what they do for our community.

We stopped by one religious group and now I am not the biggest on religion. I do believe in a higher power, but I have something against most organized religions. But they were super nice and said that they get together, I believe on Sunday, at a restaurant and just talk about God and the experiences they have. It is more of a get together than actually going to a church, which I could appreciate.

After an hour we were over the heat and decided to leave. I went to my first Gay Pride pool party, the best thing about this was I was able to cool off. We were surrounded by friends and just had a good relaxing time. After that, we attended Bear Pride dance at the Eagle. It was very packed and without fail a very good DJ. The guys that night were very attractive so that definitely helped. We danced the night away and that feeling of getting a little something more out of Pride was continuing.

Finally, Sunday came around, I usually have people come over since I live right down the street. And true to form, I did not prepare for people to come over. I am always busy during pride and always forget alcohol is not available until noon. Bad host, I know. Anyways, we walked down to the parade. Cedar Springs was already filled up with people getting ready for the parade to start. We went to our usual spot, Woody's, and hung out there. It was definitely more crowded than usual and again it was HOT. I stayed around for about an hour, but I was wiped out. The parade had started and I was walking home. As I did, I was looking at some of the floats that were passing, the first one I saw was the Teen Pride float. Again, this made me feel very proud that people at this young of age were comfortable enough to be themselves. I know at that age I was nowhere near close to coming out. Another thing I saw was a woman standing with a sign that read "Free hugs from a mom". Now I love my mom and she has been very supportive and accepting of me. But I know some people are not so fortunate. This made me think that a simple hug can make a huge difference and she was definitely hugging people left and right. You could definitely tell she was having a blast. I went back for a second round and the parade was over but people were still out celebrating. It finally wound down and at that point, it was time to get some food and call it a day.

All in all, everything that I wanted to accomplish with this Pride I definitely did. I hung out with friends that I have been celebrating Pride with since I moved here and had some new friends to hang out with as well. I think this Pride was different because I didn't do the normal routine of going out every night and then the parade. I stepped out and did a lot of firsts and actually learned a lot about how much the LGBTQIA community in Dallas helps each other out. It has definitely motivated me to continue stepping out of the norm and experiencing new things.

So my question to you is…what is your favorite thing about Pride?