Colorful Confidence

I think most people will agree that confidence is not only attractive, it’s absolutely intoxicating (for those of you that require some clarification, I said CONFIDENCE, not ARROGANCE). I think as a trait, it’s one that not only inspires admiration and respect, but it can also contribute to the fortification in the confidence of others. Of course, that would also require a desire from the first party to indulge in said fortification and given how unpredictable people can be when performing random acts of kindness, who’s to say that person A would even want to help person B, much less try.........but I digress as per usual.

 I’m sitting in a crowded bus, on my way home after having been out all day with friends in my fair city. What made this day (the previous Saturday) special was the celebration of Pride. That’s right, that day of the year where the LBGT community can kick it into gear and be proud. While on the bus, a particular group of men caught my attention. Sure, it was the night bus and there wasn’t a single sober person on board (including yours truly, I’m sorry to say), but they were in particularly high spirits. Of course, another thing that caught my attention was the flamboyant and outrageous attire they had on. Sure, it’s pride day and anything less than fabulous would have be unacceptable but them boys took it to a whole other level.

 Suddenly, one of them approached me and proceeded to blow a horn in my face and wish me a happy pride. Out of politeness, I returned the gesture and stared out the window to avoid having to make awkward conversation, but he wouldn’t let up until I eventually relented and engaged, which drew the attention of his group and attracted them towards us.  Now, I’ll be honest, I found their company to be quite enjoyable and their conversation to be hilarious. Plus, it didn't hurt that somebody decided to play "Y.M.C.A." on their phone and made the whole experience even more festive. 

 Towards the end, I got serious and asked what did pride day mean to them and one of them had an interesting answer. “It doesn’t mean anything to me. If I had to assign some meaning to it, it’s just a reminder to accept”, he said. Curious by that statement, I asked “Accept what”? He responded “me”. Before I could ask him what he meant by that, I reached my stop and got off. But, his comment lingered.

 I suppose if I had to try and make sense out of what he said, perhaps he meant that acceptance starts with you. You accept who you are and what you’ve become. Perhaps after that, everything else that follows seems a little bit easier or a lot less harder. Or maybe it doesn’t change at all but your acceptance has granted you a degree of maturity to roll with the punches. Maybe by accepting who you are, you can not only embrace yourself but provide a pathway for those to do the same towards you as well, provided that they're willing. But, that's a whole other question/conversation in itself.

 Or maybe I’m way off and this is just the insane ramblings of an immigrant who’s still trying to comprehend the various intricacies of life. But I will say this. To every person out there that’s learned to accept themselves in their glory and infamy, I salute you all. That acceptance will give way to strength and confidence. And at the end of the day, what could be more appealing in a person than that?

Happy pride day.