What a weekend! So this weekend was Montreal Pride, and though I still don't really have any close gay friends to go with, it was still something I wanted to check out. I went to the community day on Saturday, and spent about an hour walking though the gay village (for the first time!) enjoying the eye candy and feeling a) proud of myself, and b) TERRIFIED...mostly that someone I know would see me. Though it didn't seem like a "huge" step, I was proud just for having gone and walked through the village. Sunday was the parade, which again, I went downtown and enjoyed it very much. I kinda left the parade with deep thoughts about the thousands of people I had just seen that were either gay, or gay supporters. Kinda made me stop and realize that with each day that I hide in the closet, I am "wasting" my life, and I could be just as happy as them if I just stop feeling afraid and be proud of who I am. Hence the term "Gay Pride" I guess!! So when I got home, I came out to my brother! I've been trying to work up the courage to do this for over a year (told my parents last March). I was shaking while I told him, but once I finally got the awkward intro out of the way and said the words....he was very supportive! So 1 brother down, 1 to go! Right now I'm feeling pretty emotional and shook up - but I know that like when I told my parents, the initial shock will fade away and I will be very happy I took this step. Thank you Montreal Pride!
Congrats! How old are both the brothers? And what did your brother actually say (coming out stories are much more entertaining when the person posts the convo )
The brother I told is 24. My other brother is 29. Well, I was really shaking and nervous when I told him, so when I got through it all he just kinda smiled and was like "Feel better?". lol. I said "not really, but I will", and went and grabbed a beer. Then he basically told me that it doesn't bother him at all. He had a few questions (do you have a boyfriend?, etc.) We kinda talked about how it went when I told our parents; he talked a bit about a gay friend he knew from school...and about another time where he went to a gay bar with his girlfriend and one of her gay friends. He honestly has no bad-feelings towards gays!
That is fantastic - congratulations on going to pride, and on coming out to your brother! I'm so glad he took it well! I still haven't been to a gay pride yet.. but I think I'm ready. Next year.. either Winnipeg or Minneapolis - both have big pride events in June. It's time for me to be right out front and proud of who I am!!
That, I think, is precisely the reaction one should get from a Pride Festival. Because for many of us, that IS how it is. Life kicks ass on this side of the closet door, and life CAN be fun - not perfect, just fun - once the weight of the closet is gone. Way to go! Lex
Congrat's on telling your younger brother, now just the other one to go. Like Lex said it's better when you come out, there's so much weight off your shoulders.