Today, in Pride Month, I want to say a few words—not about my characters and their stories, but for the first time, about myself.

This year, this Pride Month, something shifted. I realized I don't want to stay silent anymore. I don't want to sit in the closet, shrinking myself to fit into expectations that were never meant for me. It's time to come out—not only to others, but more importantly, to myself.

For a long time, I was afraid. Afraid to say the wrong thing. Afraid to speak publicly and later change my mind. But now, I know who I am. I’ve taken time to understand myself, to listen deeply, not to what others told me to be, but to what I’ve always known in my heart.

I am not a boy. I am not a girl. I exist outside those categories, and I don’t need to be either one to be real, valid, or whole. My gender is not a halfway point between two ends—it's a full identity of its own. I am simply a person, and that is more than enough.

My heart is open to people, not genders. I don't fall in love with someone because of what they are, but because of who they are. Whether they are a man, a woman, non-binary, or beyond the binary altogether—I love people. Not parts. Not labels. Just people.

Looking back, I realize I’ve always been this way. But for years, I tried to mold myself into roles that didn’t fit. I called myself things that felt safe, not true. I told myself, “This is close enough." But it wasn’t. That was the voice of fear—fear planted in me by others:
"They won’t understand."
"They’ll treat you differently."
"No one will care enough to see the real you."

But I care.
And now, I choose truth over fear.

FOR ME, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

This is not just about how I love, or how I look, or what name someone calls me. This is about being seen. This is about claiming the space I deserve in the world—as my full self.

Today, I say this with love, clarity, and pride:

I am non-binary.
I am pansexual.
I am a person, and that is everything I need to be.

I am done hiding. I am done apologizing. I am done waiting for permission to be whole.

I AM PROUD TO BE MYSELF.
HERE. NOW. FOREVER.

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Happy Pride Month!

To everyone who came out years ago—
To those who took their first step this year—
And to those who are still quietly holding their truth close, unsure if it’s safe to speak it aloud—

I see you. I honor you. I’m with you.

There’s no right time, no perfect way to be yourself.
Whether you're loud or quiet, open or still figuring things out—you are valid. You are real. You matter.

This month is for all of us.
For our courage, our joy, our survival, our becoming.

Be proud, in your own way, in your own time!