I am so looking forward to the Mardi Gras Parade! :bigsmile:

And It is going to be fantastic to meet up with everyone else! :bigsmile:

Hey the Shane…..I wonder if you could give us a breakdown of how many from each state…..country etc

I had the most wonderful experience last nite, marching in the Sydney Mardi Gras with our group from Freedom2B.

Anthony had said on a number of occasions that when the crowd cheers, you are never the same – that at the moment that you step forward on the parade route, and the crowd cheers, you change – where the shame that you felt before has no place in yourself after you walk along Oxford Street and then down Flinders Street. :bigsmile:

I have to agree with him and I will never be same – it was exhilarating to say the least as we crossed the starting point, and I looked at the mass of people – at the thousands of faces – parents and children, the faces of different cultures / countries – whether they be gay, lesbian, or heterosexual – they were there on either side of the street. They were on the footpaths or behind the crowd barriers and they were on the balconies and at windows of the buildings on either side of the route. :bigsmile:

The feeling that swept through me was amazing. Even the volunteers and the police who stood on the side of the road were smiling and seemed excited to be there. This was another journey started – another declaration – another stand taken. I have to say that even though, I have never been the type to want to be a celebrity, I could begin to understand how a celebrity must feel when they literally feel the goodwill of others and hear the fans at music events or a movie premiere respond to them. Even though they were the faces of strangers – people, whom I would probably never speak to – at that moment, you couldn’t help but feel a connection with those people. They were watching and cheering us on – and we were standing up, proud of who we are – proud to be gay – free to express it – to no longer hide ourselves or to conform to a standard, that was not who we are. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I have watched the Mardi Gras on several occasions, either on TV or more recently, with friends at the event. But last nite, I knew that I was participating in life – this was my rite of passage – I wasn’t just watching it or life pass me by or watching others make a stand for our right to live our lives freely as GLBT people. I was there standing up for me – for my friends – for anyone who felt or identified as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transsexual, and I was doing it with others in Freedom2B and all the other participants on the other floats. The sense of camaraderie was simply amazing.

This was a moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I had such a fabulous weekend. I’m still on cloud nine, despite having to go back to the shithole I call work today. J)

Anyway, it resolved a couple of things in my mind. Firstly, that I truly love being gay. It’s an old cliche but I really feel that if there were a pill to make me straight I would not take it. It’s the first time in my life that I really can say that and mean it. Secondly, that am not getting the support I need as a gay man living in the country so I am handing in my resignation tomorrow for the end of term and moving into Melbourne. It means getting a few things sorted out which have put me off moving before but I have decided I have had enough of procrastinating. It’s time for action.

I blogged about my experience.

Before: Why I am marching at Mardi Gras

After: Mardi Gras After-Blog

Suffice to say, it was awesome.