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'I Feel Like I Could Cry:' Capital Pride Returns For In-Person Celebrations
JUN 12, 3:55 PM
‘I Feel Like I Could Cry:’ Capital Pride Returns For In-Person Celebrations
Colleen Grablick https://twitter.com/colleengrablick
For Andie U., coming out to D.C.’s pride celebration on Saturday was special — and not just because it marked an in-person return to the exuberance of the day that was lost to the pandemic last year.
“I feel like I could cry just being out here,” said Andie, who declined to give their last name. Raised in a conservative household, Andie hasn’t come out about their gender identity or sexuality yet to their parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Peru. “I’ve had to hide who I am for almost 20 years. I feel like I can scream that I’m queer and not be terrified anymore, and it’s just wonderful.”
Andie and her roommate, both VCU students, came to Dupont Circle to attend their first ever Pride. While 2020’s Capital Pride events were disrupted due to the pandemic (D.C. had just ended its month’s long stay-at-home order at the time), this year, streets in Northwest flooded with bright colors and glitter again — making a space for IRL joy after months of loss and pain.
“I just got out of the Metro station and I immediately saw flags, I saw people with crazy hairstyles…I had just the feeling of [being] free,” Andie said. “Being around people that I know share the same heart as me, and that I know had the struggle that I had, of coming to terms with this thing that I thought was wrong for most of my life. And now I’ve discovered that it’s not wrong — it’s love, it is pride, it’s joy.”
{snip}
‘I Feel Like I Could Cry:’ Capital Pride Returns For In-Person Celebrations
Colleen Grablick https://twitter.com/colleengrablick
For Andie U., coming out to D.C.’s pride celebration on Saturday was special — and not just because it marked an in-person return to the exuberance of the day that was lost to the pandemic last year.
“I feel like I could cry just being out here,” said Andie, who declined to give their last name. Raised in a conservative household, Andie hasn’t come out about their gender identity or sexuality yet to their parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Peru. “I’ve had to hide who I am for almost 20 years. I feel like I can scream that I’m queer and not be terrified anymore, and it’s just wonderful.”
Andie and her roommate, both VCU students, came to Dupont Circle to attend their first ever Pride. While 2020’s Capital Pride events were disrupted due to the pandemic (D.C. had just ended its month’s long stay-at-home order at the time), this year, streets in Northwest flooded with bright colors and glitter again — making a space for IRL joy after months of loss and pain.
“I just got out of the Metro station and I immediately saw flags, I saw people with crazy hairstyles…I had just the feeling of [being] free,” Andie said. “Being around people that I know share the same heart as me, and that I know had the struggle that I had, of coming to terms with this thing that I thought was wrong for most of my life. And now I’ve discovered that it’s not wrong — it’s love, it is pride, it’s joy.”
{snip}