For Gay Pride Month, Billboard asked numerous pop culture luminaries to write “love letters” to the LGBTQ community. Below, musician and pop singer Wrabel shares his. Read more Pride Month love letters here.
my lgtbqia+ family. happy pride month to us!
i never really know what to write when i’m doing this kind of thing. but i always know what i want to say. you’re not alone. i’m not alone. we are never alone. our stories are different, but our feelings are the same. we share a sacred bond. and we are in this thing together. for every time we’ve felt alone or abandoned or weird or like outsiders, we stand together. as one. hand in hand and heart to heart, one.
i know what it’s like to sit in a church pew listening to a man tell me i’m “unnatural” and “distorted.” i know what it’s like to be forced out of a church and a community. i know what it’s like to hide myself. to hide my heart. and i also know what it’s like to speak the words i never thought i could or would. and what it’s like to find safety and acceptance and celebration. to finally be able to accept myself and love myself for all of me.
things that i never thought i’d see. my parents sitting across the table from someone i love. walking into a church with a gay pastor. texting with my grandma about boys. i can’t even tell you how much these things mean to me.
i stand with you and sit with you and see you and hear you and i CELEBRATE you. i validate every single part of you. as uniquely yours.
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and i THANK YOU. for giving me a voice. and for sharing in my story. i thank you for making me feel like i’m not alone.
we must never ever forget where we’ve been. our past is someone’s present. and so i give you all of my love and i give you my whole heart. and i give you a warm smile and a hand reaching out.
love,
wrabel
