trans, celebration, activism
Max: I think the biggest thing that I think we’ve done, which I was really worried about, I guess based on a little bit of fear was, our whole family and a lot of our close friends attended Ottawa's first trans march since the last one, which was like decades ago. And, Samantha was actually, you know, helping me hold the signs, you know and things like that. And they walked the whole time, well Nico was on our shoulders eventually at one point. But we walked in the parade. And she was exposed to the chants and the this and she asked questions and she saw, but she… I think the biggest thing, that and I can echo it in my own feelings was she saw, cars honking, people clapping, people smiling at her, woo yeah, like positivity just resonating. And she’s like “that’s for us.” And I was like “yeah, yeah it is. Oh my god.” So I could see that it was affecting her in a way that was like “wow” - this feels really nice. So that was really cool. I mean I had been in other marches and things for other reasons, but this was the first time that I had ever attended a trans march and participated. And I was just like oh this is for us. You know, it’s not just for you, this is for us, oh yeah I'm here too. Cause i was just focused on her experience. I was just making sure you know projecting my own fears, but I was worried that she might see something and she would get worried, or hear something - or what if someone on the sidelines said anything. But it was one of the most positive experiences I’ve ever felt. And it was, one of the most rewarding that I’ve ever felt. Being in that march, and just taking ownership of our identities and just being supported by our family and friends. I couldn’t believe it. It was pretty awesome.