Finding Love and Peace through Pride

The author wearing makeup done for her at Pride.

Photos by Eva Schulz. A crowd gathers at Washington Square Park in Manhattan to celebrate Pride on June 30.

By Eva Schulz
J&L Intern 

I recently attended the Pride parade in New York City. At first the city felt quite as usual: crowds of people, the smell of pollution and $5 hot dogs, and a constant state of hurry. Every so often I’d see someone dressed up in rainbows and colorful makeup, but it wasn’t until I reached Washington Square Park that I felt a complete shift. If given one glance, the park looked as it ordinarily does – congested but with more colors and fewer clothes. However, at the center of that congestion, there was so much more to experience. 

Sitting on a towel in the park created a sense of calm in a sea of what seemed like chaos: hundreds of people walking around, vendors screaming out prices of their homemade goods, and the hot sun beating down on me, but it wasn’t bothersome. Being around mostly queer people fostered a feeling of security in me that I had never felt anywhere else. This aspect of Pride was freedom. I am not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, which creates a unique experience. I realize that being a white cisgender woman allows me to function comfortably following society’s norms.

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