 A word of encouragement that I would give other LGBTQ people is simply faith. If I could have a conversation with a 12 year old version of myself, I would say continue to stay strong because what you think is going to happen in the future will actually happen to you in the future. I was raised with no dad. I grew up in a small town in Texas, the Bible Belt, extremely Republican family, no support. So when I came out, I was sent to many different Christian counselors, which was a great childhood. LGBTQ pride means to me having pride in yourself and sharing that with other community members.