Every year, I have the honor of riding atop the Pride Center float in the Stonewall Parade — perched high, waving, representing, and soaking in the beauty of a community that refuses to disappear. For me, it’s more than a parade. It’s a blessing. It’s the one day of the year when I feel the LGBTQ community moving as one heartbeat. Yes, you’ll always find a shady queen or two — that’s family — but for the most part, we embrace one another with an energy that feels sacred.

Today’s South Lawn of the White House features a huge, brightly lit metal cage called “the ​Claw.” It is a stage erected to showcase men beating each other bloody, Caligula style, to entertain a wannabe Roman Emperor on his 80th birthday.

Three years later, one thing is abundantly clear: none of this happens alone.

Our third trip around the sun brought Out South Florida Newspaper and Magazine to new heights, proving once again that when a community comes together with purpose, incredible things can happen.