What if the place where you first learned to love yourself wasn't just a place, but a community?

In this deeply personal essay, I reflect on my years in San Francisco's Castro District, the queer community that welcomed me before I fully welcomed myself, and the journey that led me to the year I first fell in love with who I was. A love letter to belonging, Pride, and the people who remind us that we never have to make ourselves smaller in order to fit in.

Who says you need a ring to book the honeymoon? Not me. My solo trip to The Maldives taught me that life waits for no one — so stop waiting on someone you haven’t even met yet, and start treating yourself like the great love story you already are.