It’s Pride Month. The definition of LGBT Pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as a social group. But, for me, the term “pride” takes on a different meaning. For almost three years now, I have been in a committed relationship with the love of my life. She just so happens to be a woman. I haven’t always been in a place where this is something I was willing to admit. In fact, if you asked me a decade ago, I wouldn’t have even considered it a possibility. I grew up in a small town with conservative values and was raised very Catholic. In high school, I was told by my priest that acting on homosexual tendencies would result in going to hell. This led me to suppress my attraction to women from a very young age. On top of that, I have suffered with severe gender dysphoria for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always viewed myself as a boy and encouraged others to use the name “Michael” when referring to me. It wasn’t until my internal perception and outward expression started to embarrass my friends and family that I realized this wasn’t considered normal. I tried to hide these parts of myself and attempted to conform to the standards of those around me. It worked for a while, but I eventually came to terms with the fact that it was not sustainable. I went off to college and started living on my own. I began to dress how I wanted to dress and date who I wanted to date. But, at that point, the traditional values that had been ingrained in me led to feelings of guilt and shame. I became disgusted with myself and who I was as a person. I felt self-indulgent and often feared that my actions would lead to eternal damnation. It didn’t seem fair that some people were able to wake up every day and be who they wanted to be and love who they wanted to love with no consequences. I thought how much easier my life would be if I were born a straight man. Then, I realized something. The thing that I’ve always been most passionate about in my life is filmmaking, and almost all of the filmmakers I’ve ever looked up to have been straight men. For years, I aspired to be just like them. It bothered me when people didn’t see the same potential in me. But, I wasn’t like them. I had something they didn’t. I had a perspective that no straight man could ever even attempt to comprehend. So, then I started thinking: what if this was a blessing, not a curse? I began to incorporate these aspects of my life into my work. For the first time, I started to appreciate my unique situation and the capacity for empathy and understanding it gave me. This opened my eyes to the opportunity for compassion, rather than coming from a place of judgement. I approached every situation with the knowledge that I had something to learn from everyone. At the same time, I questioned everything. Whenever I found myself going off the deep end or falling down a rabbit hole, I was reminded of the fact that everyone was struggling with their own personal demons. Therefore, no one had all the answers to everything. We are all flawed human beings with so much to learn from each other. To presume that any one of us knows exactly what we’re doing is ignorant because it’s impossible. Life is complicated. It’s messy. Nothing is ever as black and white as it seems. We should be open to the experiences life has in store for us. We shouldn’t limit ourselves or others by putting each other in boxes. As people, we have so much more in common than any of us realize. I take pride in the fact that I can sit down with anyone from all walks of life and connect with them in one way or another. To me, that is one of the most beautiful aspects of being a human being and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I don’t identify with a specific group or see myself as just one thing. My sexuality does not define me. My gender does not define me. I define myself.