On June 10, 2018 I had the privilege to march in the Northern Kentucky Pride Parade. I marched with the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Northern Kentucky chapter. I am currently interning with KFTC with Joe Gallenstein as my supervisor. My friend, Mari, had stayed over the night before so we could wake up early to prepare. We were both so excited to go to the parade and to support the LGBTQ+ community. We woke up early that morning to meet Joe at Roebling Point Books and Coffee where we started our day with a cup of coffee and donuts. I had been sick for the past week, and wasn’t sure I’d have the energy needed to participate. That doubt disappeared once we walked over to our spot in the parade and waited for the parade to start.
While waiting I could already feel how important it is for our communities to show support. I could feel all the love and acceptance as I spoke with others participating in the parade. We talked about issues that were close to our hearts, and how we plan to achieve our goals. Once the parade started, I was happy to see people from our communities showing their support and I enjoyed seeing how happy the children were to catch pieces of candy. Being a part of all the love was enlightening. Music played, people danced and sang. Despite being exhausted from my cold, my friend and I, danced and sang along as well. Being goofy and jumping around was so much fun and being a part of the parade has been a highlight of my summer. Although, we should not limit support for the LGBTQ+ community to just one month, I am very excited to have been a part of the Pride Parade this year and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year!
