Austin and I met 6 years ago. Falling in love with each other wasn’t that hard since we both shared pretty much the same interests. Getting married and building a family was something that I always dreamed of in secret, but growing up in a super conservative and religious family was something that was keeping me away from this dream.

Pride to me means celebration. Celebration of the new me and who I’ve become. I was always told to keep my feelings and emotions to myself, to hide, to be ashamed of. Now I rejoice, now I live, now I celebrate. The old me would be proud of me for breaking free and standing up for myself and for those who are not ready to come out just yet.

Just know one thing: there’s hope and the future is bright and colorful.

We want to hear from YOU, our community members. What’s YOUR Pride story ? Send an e-mail to charles@personalstoriesproject.org if you’d like to share! #PersonalStories