Day 17 – Your first experience with an LGBT organization or event (Day of Silence, Pride, etc)

My very first encounter with the LGBT community was seeing the entire Pride parade of 2007 go past my bus as we sat in traffic. I loved it, the colours, the atmosphere, the passion that you could so obviously see exuding from these bright happy people.

My first 'face to face' encounter with the LGBT community was over a year later, when I'd figured out I was anything but heterosexual and had picked apart my cost little straight life to take a look at why I was so deeply unhappy. It was post Pride 2008, and I had found the youth group BeLonG To while website hoping (like channel hoping only online). I was utterly terrified to go to their Sunday group. I had waited till my family was out of town so I didn't need to put my pathetic lying skills under undue pressure. I shook the entire bus ride to town and the whole walk to the community center was rushed, my head watching my feet and navigating a part of town I wasn't all that familiar with. Four or five hours later after a flurry of names and faces, hugs and so much information I was totally convinced that I was going back the next week. Right after I came out to my parents. I don't do things by halves ;)