They are Proud of the Way they Are.

This past weekend was 2014 DC Gay Pride festival, Jamie and I went there and had our first time gay parade. We marched with our friends from Affirmation : Gay and Lesbian Mormons. It was one the the best experiences I ever had in my life. ^_^

A lady saw Jamie's T-shirt and asked, "Who's that crazy boyfriend?" Four people that heard that all responded to her before I had a chance. lol

There were a lot of things I'd imagined before I came to America, one thing was to get to know other gay Mormons. It was a very daring anticipation that there would have other gay Mormons, I looked it up online and beyond surprisingly I found several groups and started talking to other gay Mormons.

It's really good to have a group like Affirmation that lets us know we are not alone and we have supports. :) Especially hearing those stories and experiences from people helped me grow a lot stronger in this journey.


The parade was in the afternoon, Jamie and I drove to one of the metro stops and  rode to the heart of DC to meet our group. The spirit of the festival immediately dawned on us, people wore special custom (or didn't wear anything lol ) were on the train chatting; rainbow symbols were everywhere decorated on people.

It was said, closer we got to our destination, more people were on the train. By the time we left the train, we were barely able to walk because it's too crowded.




We tried to find our group but it was like finding a needle under the sea. However, our friend, Mark, caught my eyes because he was in his white shirts and tie - Mormonism's signature. Affirmation people were finishing up the signs; children also helped, putting up all the colors.









My mind was absolutely blown away when we started marching,"This city is crazy! I thought, "Crazily awesome!" It was very touching that so many people were celebrating the festival, it almost felt like all of them were proud of us being gay, they were celebrating our lives with us. They shouted "Happy Pride" and waved at everyone that's marching. My cheeks were so sore due to non stopped laughing.

You are all very welcome to visit my Facebook page to see more pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/MingandIpotogether

Gallery

I wondered what was in everyone's mind at the festival.
If my sister Chelsea was there, she might be counting how many cute guys there had. I am now going to "display" my collections for her sake.

You can't say no to cute college boys. 

Or Huskies?

More Seasonings? 

For some reason this gentleman told me he would be there all day and welcomed me to go back to find him.

I believe my friend, Quinn has one same tank! 

Bears? Perhaps. 

What about Her?

ha ha I hope ya'll find your favorite boy(s). ;) If you still couldn't find one... 

Here has a bunch!

Looking at these pictures really makes me happy! (I don't only mean the ones above. :P ) That day was full of glee! You couldn't believe how happy everybody was.

Happy Faces

 

 

 

 

He seemed to e telling me he's married. ^_^

Sassy!

Second Day of the Festival

Today we had our sister Jeanette accompany us! Jamie and Jeanette were like elementary school kids going on school field trip. Super cute.

Many organizations held booths at the festival, Affirmation had one too and was giving out free Hugs! I loved the whole free hugs idea, a simple hug really could express a lot of love and support. 

I felt a little shy though.. :') thankfully, people were kind to me and were willing to come over to hug me. Our friend, Brandon, held my arm high and shouted, "Free hugs free hugs!" Some people smiled at us and came, some people refused to have eye contact with us in case it got awkward. I felt I was on the mission again. :P

Many people asked me where was I from, two people thought I was from Japan, one said I was from Korea; a group of South Asians shouted at me and said I should definitely hang out with them and gave me candies; two gentlemen said, "Oh my gosh! Cute Thai!"and came over to hug me and gave me their numbers. :P Nobody realized I was a Taiwanese.


There were many cool people at the festival, very daring. Not only guys were topless, but also some of women. People holding hands were very common. I was glad to see how happy they were for the way they were. Undoubtedly Jamie and I will be going to Pride again next year, and the years in the rest of our lives. ^_^

I hope you enjoy this blog, and again, you may see all the pictures on my Facebook page. :)


 Thank you for readying it.

Love,
Teddy