Pride
Take Home Messages & Nuggets
- It's always a good time to be a kind soul
- Never stop learning
- Take time to educate yourself
Hi everyone!
I wanted to send out a quick apology for taking a break from posting. The time became a little chaotic, but I am happy to state I started a new job at Body Harmony Physical Therapy in Manhattan, NY! If anyone needs help with getting moving during this time or in general – please feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to accommodate you within the clinic. Motion is lotion people and quarantine kept us cooped up for a little too long! We offer Telehealth sessions as well if you are still uncomfortable with the idea of attending a PT session in person.
Next week, I will be posting a blog on gender reassignment and how physical therapy can be beneficial. Stay tuned and I hope you enjoy this eye-opening post below.
This post is dedicated to Pride month. I understand that Pride has its own month and there were plenty of posts in the month of June regarding this topic - but I have made it known that I want to use my platform for anyone who needs it at ANY TIME. A dear friend of mine (who will remain anonymous) shared some words about their experience with coming out and I think it’s an important message to share.
“Gay people can get married now, so why are we still talking about them? I get asked this question a lot as an LGBT+ Ambassador for a fortune 100 company. There are various reasons why we need to continue to challenge ourselves on our beliefs and actions towards LGBT+ rights and issues nationally and globally. I will share my personal story with you to help explain why I continue to speak up, stand up, and support those who take action to become a visible LGBT+ ally.
It all started when I was a teenager. I used to keep a notepad next to my bed to write my thoughts before I went to sleep each night. As I was coming of age and realizing who I was, I began to write just one word. “gay”. I had a feeling I knew who I was, but yet most things surrounding me were telling me that I would be an abomination if it were true. I began crying myself to sleep each night as I looked down at my notebook in frustration. I was ashamed of who I was and this doomed cycle repeated itself for years. After high school, I moved away from home to go to college. I chose a school with a huge student body that was far away from home. I thought I could hide there. Things started out okay, but then the cycle repeated itself in my college dorm room. This time, I was not writing in a notebook but instead I was writing letters to my friends and family. These were apology letters. I was apologizing to my friends and family because I was going to take my life at college. I couldn’t bear the burden of my secret any longer. This is the point in my story when I met some very important people in my life. Just like the rest of the world, they didn’t know my whole self, but that didn’t matter to them. They made me feel that they would love me, accept me and support me no matter what I was about to tell them. These were the first people who I told I was gay and it changed my life forever. After I came out to my first known LGBT+ Allies, I went back to my dorm room and ripped up the letters I had written.
I knew what it felt like to not have an ally in my life. However, I now know that you can change someone’s life, you can even save someone’s life by being an active and visible LGBT+ ally. Would my life have ended at 18 years old if it weren’t for a few freshmen in college with big hearts and open arms?
While gay marriage was a very important milestone for human rights, it does not cure the disease that cause so many LGBT+ youth pain on a daily basis. Please be kind, be open, educate yourself, and be an active ally for others in your life.”