On Wednesday, October 17th, I went roller-skating with the Stockton Pride Alliance, a group I joined shortly after the Get Involved Fair. Before going, I was honestly a bit nervous, since I am, on a general basis, absolutely terrible at anything involving coordination. But even being as terrible at roller-skating as I am, I had a great time doing this. I spent most of the night trying not to fall over or run into other people, and it was a blast. I got to hang out with a bunch of cool people that I have a lot in common with, and I feel like because of it we all became much better friends. We laughed together, some of us fell together, and we all had a lot of fun.
The Stockton Pride Alliance is a student run organization that is focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning students. The purpose of it is to essentially bring about a sense of unity for LGBTQ students and allies, as well as bring awareness to those types of issues to students outside of the organization. It’s a club where LGBTQ students and allies can feel safe and be open about their sexuality and their thoughts and feelings surrounding this. Part of what made going out in a group like to go roller-skating was that a lot of people in the club went with their significant others, and it was great to be able to do that and see that and not feel judged.
The organization behind the event was not as great as it could have been. We carpooled, which was a great idea, but then a lot of people backed out or were late or ended up getting there in different ways than had planned. We spent a good half hour just standing around at the meeting spot, waiting for everyone to show up so we could get going. It was all a bit of a mess at first. Also, the drive there was a little bit long and would have been confusing if I wasn’t following someone else. But we eventually all made it there, paid the somewhat cheap price, and enjoyed the night.
I think a big part of the reason why I had such a good time was because I was with this group of people who I wasn’t afraid to be myself in front of. I didn’t have to pretend or act any certain way. I could make a fool of myself and that was just fine. I could joke and fall down and be comfortable with them, I could hold hands with my girlfriend and not be judged, and it was because of that that I had a great time. I think it was a really great experience for all of us for that same reason. Joining clubs like this at Stockton is honestly the best way to really get yourself out there and find some great friends who you have things in common with, people who you can feel comfortable with and who will accept you just the way you are.