June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which is admittedly my favorite month of the year! The entire month is spent celebrating, educating, mourning/remembering those who have lost their lives, spreading awareness and overall just making everything really really really gay!

There are many things YOU can do during pride month as an ally or an LGBTQ+ individual yourself that will help support and raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues.

1. Find and go to your local Pride Parade

Pride Parades are happening consistently all over everywhere right now, particularly in bigger cities. If you want to be involved and show support this month, the easiest way is to find your local pride parade and go to it! LGBTQ+ or supportive ally, you'll be sure to have a blast and help create awareness in that city all at once!

2. Be a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals who aren't out yet

Whether you're an out and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, or an ally, you can offer a listening ear and support to those who are aren't comfortable or are just are not able to come out yet for various reasons. Realize that you can't push anyone to come out if they're not comfortable, and that coming out isn't a one and done deal. Most LGBTQ+ individuals never get to stop coming out. In new jobs, new towns, to new friends. The list goes one. By being a person who is willing to be a safe space to any LGBTQ+ individual who needs it, you're helping in so many ways that you may or may not even realize.

3. Donate to LGBTQ+ charities and organizations

There are hundreds and hundreds of organizations and charities that you can donate to in order to help raise awareness or sort out other issues that the community is struggling with. Find one or a few that you can really get behind and donate time or money to help out. There are ones to help homeless LGBTQ+ youth, there are ones specifically for certain orientations, there are ones specifically for trans individuals. The possibilities are never ending. Even a dollar can help, even an hour of time. It's a great way to get involved this Pride Month and quite honestly, any other month of the year too.

4. Be conscious, be aware, be a voice

This is important. LGBTQ+ individuals as well as allys need to be conscious and aware of what they are saying. We all need to be a voice for those who cannot speak up, we need to make sure what we are saying is with good intentions. For LGBTQ+ individuals, let's not erase identities. Bisexuality is real and valid, and many lesbian and gay people tend to erase it all together. Transgender people are real and valid and belong in our community as much as we do. Straight trans people exist and are just as welcome in the community. Everyone in the community is valid, and it's not our job to decide who is and isn't queer enough, if they self proclaim that they are queer then it's not our job to ask how queer. Ally's, it's your job to recognize us all as valid, it's your job not to make Pride Month about you, but rather stand beside us and fight with us. Don't speak over us. No the A doesn't stand for Ally, and that's okay! No, it's not okay for you to want a gay best friend to go shopping and talk about boys with but dislike women who love women. It's easy to not be an asshole, it's easy to be kind and supportive and spread love. So be conscious, be aware, and be a voice.

5. Be loud and proud!

Finally, ally or LGBTQ+ individual, be loud and proud of yourself. Scream from the rooftops that you love who you are or that you support who you support and don't care. Pride is about being proud of our community, and being a tight knit community who has ally's by our sides will continue to make us unstoppable whether that's during Pride Month or during every single month of the year!

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE!!!!