"What's your pride story?" Join Katie in a touching conversation with artist, advocate, and friend Charlie Williamson. In this very first episode of Pride Stories: the Podcast, we explore Charlie's remarkable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the evolving nature of identity. Charlie explores the challenging terrain of grieving, the courage it takes to come out to family members, and the importance of finding support systems.
Grappling with the heart-rending reality of unanswered conversations due to the untimely loss of their parents, Charlie found comfort and community through theatre and their college Pride Center. In this engaging conversation, Charlie reflects on their evolving journey of self-acceptance, their pride in the progress they've made, and the importance of embracing one's true self, even if it takes time. Tune in to gain insights and inspiration from Charlie's story of personal growth and empowerment.
"What's your pride story?" Join Katie in a touching conversation with artist, advocate, and friend Charlie Williamson. In this very first episode of Pride Stories: the Podcast, we explore Charlie's remarkable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the evolving nature of identity. Charlie explores the challenging terrain of grieving, the courage it takes to come out to family members, and the importance of finding support systems.
Grappling with the heart-rending reality of unanswered conversations due to the untimely loss of their parents, Charlie found comfort and community through theatre and their college Pride Center. In this engaging conversation, Charlie reflects on their evolving journey of self-acceptance, their pride in the progress they've made, and the importance of embracing one's true self, even if it takes time. Tune in to gain insights and inspiration from Charlie's story of personal growth and empowerment.
Looking back at my life, my sexuality was something that I grew up in this lovely little liberal bubble. That wasn't really popped until I got to high school and realized that the world was kind of homophobic.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Pride Stories, the podcast where we celebrate the entire spectrum of experiences that make up the LGBTQ plus community. I'm your host, katie Beatty from Tell Well Story Co and Studio On this podcast. We are committed to creating a safe, supportive and inspiring space for our guests and listeners alike, so join us as we explore the heartwarming, sometimes painful and always inspired stories that make us who we are. I'm your host, katie Beatty, and today I'm joined by Charlie Williamson, who is an incredible artist and advocate and, admittedly, a friend of mine. So, hi, charlie, thank you so much for being here and being our very first guest on Pride Stories, the podcast Hi, yeah, I'm really excited I get to be the first one.
Speaker 2:You're such a big deal. How are you feeling coming into this conversation, knowing that we are going to be talking about things like pride and coming out and all of the challenges that come along with that?
Speaker 1:I'm really excited. I love talking and sharing my story and using stories to impact the lives of other people, so I'm really excited. I think I'm a little nervous because I think there's parts of what we're talking about that isn't something that I've talked a lot about before when it comes to my story, so I'm a little nervous to start talking about that, but excited for the possibilities Awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, totally understand the nerves and where those are coming from, and just know that we are doing this on your terms. We will talk about what you want to talk about, nothing that you don't, and we just really want to create a space where you feel safe and comfortable sharing those things. So, to start off with, I want you to just tell me about yourself, whatever that means to you. Who is Charlie Williamson?
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, so I go by Charlie. My full name is actually Charlotte and I mean, for me personally that's not necessarily a dead name. I like the name Charlotte, it's just not what sort of fits me 24, seven, I would say. But so, yeah, full name Charlotte. I go by Charlie. I use they, them pronouns. I identify as non-binary gender, fluid, trans, masculine, umbrella terms. I kind of see my gender as something that's just kind of me, and labels are helpful when people ask, but I don't want to use them to box myself in either. So those are, my genderiness is what I think I'm going to say, that's what I'm going to call that. I also identify as bisexual and that's sort of where my sexuality fits in for things.
Speaker 2:Those are all so great and thank you for kind of setting the stage with those things. But what about the non? Like you said gendery things about you. Who are you as a person? What do you do in the world?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I just finished up college. I just graduated college, which is very exciting, and I got a degree in theater big theater nerd, I love performing, I love teaching theater and just using art in a lot of different ways. I also while I was in school not only for the LGBTQ plus community, but also for communities that I may not share the identities with, and focusing on my allyship with those communities as well. So I kind of consider myself a theater maker and creative that also likes to do advocacy stuff. And then I also the other side of me, that is, my event planer, micro manager self, in that I started working a job in admissions and event planning and daily visits for campus. So students that are starting their college journeys themselves, figuring out how to get them on to campus and start their journey that I just finished.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, now we have this kind of well rounded picture of who Charlie is and we can really get into the meat of what we're talking about today. So, as you know, this entire podcast is based around a single question what is your pride story? So I want to open up the virtual floor to you now to share that story, whatever it is, wherever it starts.
Speaker 1:I want to hear it all. So, yeah, my pride story. I think that, honestly speaking, there isn't any part of my life, my upbringing, my family, that isn't involved with pride or involved with just the LGBTQ plus community. I grew up in a Unitarian Universalist Church, which is a very liberal and progressive religion, community faith based thing, and so I grew up around a lot of LGBTQ plus people and families that weren't just the heteronormative, binary sense of the word. So even like for as long as I can remember, I was around queer folks and around people and so growing up I never thought of myself as straight. I never thought I needed like I was straight.
Speaker 1:There wasn't a time where I was straight and then I figured out that I was gay that sort of a lot of folks have. It was more of. I had the unique and honestly really lucky experience of growing up not thinking that straight was the default. I grew up knowing that some people were straight and some people were gay and some people were trans and some people were X, y and Z. So when I started dating in middle school which is middle school, actually dating, but I'm dating heavy air quotes in middle school my like first relationship was with a girl and it lasted like a full weekend. Her name is Stephanie. Don't know what she's doing with her life, but shout out to Stephanie.
Speaker 2:Stephanie, if you're out there, sending you good vibes, good vibes 100% good vibes.
Speaker 1:So I never really thought of myself as straight or needed to come out. I have twin older brothers, one of whom is gay and one who's straight, and kind of a running family joke is that I hijacked my older brother, Phillips, coming out story in his moment because he came out publicly his senior year of high school and put it on Facebook. And we came home and there was this big family discussion and it was like we love you, we support you, Like it was really. It was a good discussion and at the very end of this big family sit down we had a Phillip being gay. My mom looks at me and goes well, Charlotte, what do you think about this? Like how are you doing? You've been kind of quiet and I was like, well, he told me a long time ago and I'm bisexual, so I don't really care. And then that was just it, Like that was how and I would have been in like eighth grade because he was a senior. It's like that was how I came out and it was so casual, it was so just that this is the thing. So I never had that sort of big moment, at least with my sexuality, sort of going through high school and growing up I sort of had a couple big life altering plot points, as many people in my life have referred to them. But I went through high school and while I was a sophomore in high school my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had brain cancer for about five or six years and passed away from brain cancer once.
Speaker 1:I was about a junior in college and so while I was sort of really sure of who I was with my sexuality pretty early, the times in which I did start to question gender and gender expression I had, it was sort of it was at the back of my mind. It wasn't something I was really thinking about, partly because anxiety, teenager and also because of just different family dynamics. So I went through high school and I decided I was going to go to college and be a theater major in college and I started at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado lovely cow town, Greeley and studying theater and while I was there I was in a pretty toxic relationship was one of those gay relationships that I feel like everyone is like yeah, lesbians are going to U-Haul and it was like U-Haul, but he was a terrible person. I was in a really difficult relationship in where, as soon as I started to question my gender identity, that was shut down. So I was 19, 20 years old, gender identity coming up. That was shut down. And right after that relationship had ended is when my mom passed away from cancer. So that's we're now into like 2019 is kind of the timeline here and so I got out of that relationship, dropped out of school, moved home to help take care of my mom when she was in hospice and then she eventually passed away.
Speaker 1:I then had a short little moment where I lived in Costa Rica because I had an internship and I was like this is great, 2020 is going to be my year. I'm living in Costa Rica, Nothing can go wrong. And then, of course, 2020 happens, COVID happens, move back home, shut down and inside, and I feel like another pretty common gay phenomenon whether that's queer, trans but people went into, shut down cis and came out with new pronouns is something that a lot of people talked about and I definitely started to let myself question my gender identity more. I started using they them pronouns a little bit. I decided to go back to school and I transferred to Colorado State University and started going by Charlie. That was the first time I had switched to going by Charlie and started using they them pronouns, kind of investigating that. But it was something that was still very back burner. It was very casual kind of like how my sexuality was, casual. I didn't really want to figure out too much about gender identity things. And so I was at CSU and started to question gender identity stuff and my very, very supportive family of course every time they were like All right, we're noticing going by Charlie, are there pronouns you want us to call you Charlie, stuff. That was very, very supportive and great and I just sort of didn't totally have an answer for it Because I was like I don't even want to think about it that much. But I sort of over time was like yeah, well, I think I'm more fluid gender wise or I go by Charlie at school, but like it doesn't feel weird or wrong when my family members call me Charlotte, so that's fine, people can keep calling me Charlotte. And I was sort of going through all of that, getting more settled and more comfortable into being gender fluid, stuff like that.
Speaker 1:And then, before I finished my degree at CSU in 2021, my father passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. So I was sort of hit with another sort of one of those big grief moments, big life change moments, and didn't sort of separated myself, compartmentalized again which I kind of did after my mom died of what is important for me to figure out right now and what isn't, and I was going by Charlie and using they them pronouns and was out and living very, my very non-binary-ness life at school but with my family members was still like it was still Charlotte, it was still pretty much she, her, all the time and they knew that other people called me different things but that was fine and we didn't really talk about it. So I just kind of rode the wave with that, finished school at CSU and I recently moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area from Colorado to be closer to more family members because with my parents passing away and siblings and everyone living out of state, I went from being staying in state in Colorado for school to be close to family to not having any family in Colorado. So I made the decision to move to Fargo-Moorhead and as I was making that decision I was talking with my brother and sister-in-law and they had sort of brought up to me and it realized they're like, yeah, you're moving, but all of our friends call you Charlotte because we call you Charlotte. And it was kind of this moment where I realized that I never had the like coming out moment for my gender identity with any of my family members and that that had sort of just been skipped in everything. And so I was like, oh yeah, and it was really sweet. He was like, well, we've just started switching to Charlie, because we know that you go by Charlie and they them and we're working on it, and it was very heartwarming. I was like that's very cute, Thank you. And so I made the move out here and that was in and of itself a big change. But I was also going from way more of a liberal area, or like a conceptually liberal area, because I'm learning a lot about Fargo Morehead and all the times I visited I was like this is gayer than I thought it would be, which is great, Surprisingly queer out here in Fargo, North Dakota. And so I ended up here and going by Charlie Morehead living.
Speaker 1:Now I feel like, as a quote unquote, real adult of I went through the hiring process and had all these experiences that I hadn't had before of okay, my legal name is not what I go by.
Speaker 1:I use they them pronouns. Are they gonna be cool with that Sort of this? Looking back at my life, my sexuality was something that I grew up in this lovely little liberal bubble that wasn't really popped to like. Out to high school and realized that the world was kind of homophobic and then I knew exactly who I was and what I was doing to figuring out my gender identity to, I guess, more of a classic story that some people would think of with figuring out their identity. So I think it's, I mean, one of the reasons that I wanted to do this podcast is not because I had a difficult upbringing or I grew up in a place that wasn't more liberal or more accepting, but because I feel like I have a kind of unique experience in a different sense that I think might resonate with other people out there, and so that's kind of my timeline history, I guess, of my pride story slash upbringing, slash all of that. Yeah well.
Speaker 2:Thank you for sharing your story, charlie. I love hearing it kind of beginning to where we are now and all of the ups and downs and, like you said, it is a unique story in its own way because the unfortunate reality is so many of the stories that we hear are negative, are about growing up in a homophobic church setting, rather than the Universalist, unitarian or is it Unitarian, universalist, unitarian, universalist yeah Damn, I get it wrong every time. To you, that's unique, but also showing listeners that even if you have a really positive and supportive upbringing, there's still challenges that come along with figuring out who you are and sharing that with the world. So thank you for sharing your unique story with us. So obviously, exploring sexuality and gender is always complicated, especially as a young person, and, as you mentioned, you have had to do so with the added layer of experiencing really intense and profound grief. Can you talk about navigating that and what that has been like for you and maybe how you've done it?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think for me a big thing was Early on navigating my gender identity and new pronouns was really when my mom was at the end of her illness, so I had started to think about using they them pronouns, or thinking about using Charlie as a name for the first time, and when I would see my parents or go home to visit, it would be visiting my mom, who she had brain cancer, and by the end it was a lot. It impacted her memory, it impacted her speech, and so it was not something that I could just talk to my mom about. And I think that one of the hardest parts, and something that in a way I don't want to say like set me back, because there's no timeline that you have to come out by but something that definitely put a lot of stuff on hold, was realizing that not only I couldn't talk to my mom about it, but she wouldn't get it or understand it. So if I made a big life change, in whatever aspect, that wouldn't be something she was able to be a part of, and so I think that was sort of the first step back there in knowing that there was a part of me that could be a really big part of me that my mom would never understand.
Speaker 1:And when it came to figuring stuff out and my dad passing away, it was sort of the opposite, because with my mom we knew that it was coming. It had been six years of this, she was in hospice care, we had sort of prepared for a lot of stuff, and with my dad it was a phone call on a random Tuesday morning. In that sense I think I thought that I had more time to talk to him about it, where we'd had discussions about it and he had expressed that he was like, really like he's, like they, them pronouns are just very plural in my brain. So I'm going to work on it but it's just going to be hard for my brain to wrap around. Like we had talked about it but I've never had the sit down conversation of like I am gender fluid and non binary and that means that I'm not a girl, so I am your youngest kid. I don't want to be referred to as your youngest daughter kind of a thing or your daughter.
Speaker 1:And so we never had that conversation because I think in my brain I was working up to it and when I wasn't able to have that conversation, very suddenly it sort of stunted again or set back again any other conversations, thoughts, desires to sort of process it or talk about it with my family members because it was another aspect or another thing that now I wouldn't be able to share with my parents, or I wasn't.
Speaker 1:There's an interesting memory aspect of it where I'm like I have these memories and I don't want memories with my parents or my brothers or my family members memories to be different or discounted or like not allowed to, because there's certain things that are pictures, there's stories that are attached to my femininity that we can't have because I'm not what I seemed to be when I was younger.
Speaker 1:So I think there's definitely challenges with letting go of not being able to have those conversations with my parents and also slowly working up to having those conversations with my family members that are still here, because when I think about it I don't want the same thing to happen again. I don't want any of my family members to pass away or leave this plane of existence without knowing the fullest extent of me that I would like them to know. So it's been a lot of, I feel like kind of shoving stuff down and then letting it resurface in therapy and then shoving it down. And I think that one of the difficulties really is letting myself be more vulnerable, knowing that now a fair amount of times in my life a rug has sort of been pulled out from under me, so understanding and trusting that if I say something or I talk about it more with my family members, that it'll be okay and that that sort of sense of abandonment isn't going to result from me being vulnerable.
Speaker 2:I guess, if that makes sense, yeah, that makes perfect sense and I really appreciate you going down that path with me. You just mentioned therapy, which is amazing. We love therapy. We're very pro therapy in this house. What are some other ways that you have found support over the years going through these really tough times? Any specific organizations or resources or support systems that have been particularly helpful for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure. So when I transferred to CSU I was like I need more queer community. So I got involved with the Pride Center at CSU, which is their LGBTQ plus resource center that is staffed by like professional staff and then student staff. So I just basically when I was there I got super involved in any way that I could and that sort of, because I was seeking that community and in a way I was honestly looking for other people like me.
Speaker 1:I was sort of I grew up definitely around a lot of queer people. I did not grow up around a lot of non-binary. I had trans folks in my life, but it was a very binary sense of that word and that identity and queer folks that were still very binary in that sense. And it wasn't until I was at CSU that I met like an out non-binary person that used they them pronouns. That that was, you know who they were and using those identifiers.
Speaker 1:So once I was able to see that I had this queer community support and then I had a job because I started working there.
Speaker 1:So I was a student staff member at the Pride Center and so I had that and then I had mentors who shared those really key identities with me and I think that having that community is what really made sure I could get through everything else and that you know, whenever anything was difficult or hard with school, like when my dad passed away, I was standing in the Pride Center when I got that phone call. So it's like there are that organization and that resource center is really tied into everything that I feel like I've become and want to do and I think definitely where the desire to like still work in higher ed is from working at the Pride Center. But deep down it really just was having that community and that sense of support, because we all came from different aspects and different stories but we had those things in common and could lean on each other for that. So having people that had those similar experiences sort of nearby definitely made that easier and kept me going.
Speaker 2:And I know you mentioned it just briefly earlier, but could you talk a little bit more about the role that art and theater has played in your Pride story and being an outlet for you over the years?
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure. So theater, I feel like it was something that we always, like I'd started doing really young. Some families played soccer, everyone got an R's was theater. Both of my parents were theater people. All of us did theater me and my brothers and I kept doing it sort of past the middle school age, whereas my brothers found other passions, and I think that was really because theater is for, like, the weird people, it's the misfits. A lot of gay people do theater.
Speaker 1:It's one of those things where if you didn't quite fit in in a different area, especially in high school, that was sort of the safe space was theater and for me also choir. I did music, so I did choir in high school. For me, theater and choir were really, when I was in high school, were really my safe spaces and where I could feel like I could express myself. And playing a character different from myself has always, I think, sort of been a little bit of like an escape, coping mechanism, because no matter what's going on with me and my life, no matter what was going on with my boyfriend or girlfriend at the time, and then you know, as anything is surface level to that is the fact that my character had a show to perform and their world was their world. I didn't have to think about the fact that my mom couldn't come because she was sick or I wasn't able to do different things because my high school life was very much altered by having a parent with a terminal illness. And then, once I was in college, still being able to do theater really kind of felt like a comforting sense and something I knew I could do. So like anytime something's unreliable, like I know that I can do it, like I know that I can find something there and I can have the separation between whatever is happening to me and the character I'm playing, while also knowing that I could use my story, my experience, real stories, real experiences, whatever it may be in theater to make an impact.
Speaker 1:That theater doesn't always have to be the happy musicals that you get, where it has that escapism, which is definitely beneficial. But one of my favorite experiences was I was in the ensemble of the Laramie project, which is a play about the death of Matthew Shepard, and so that was something that was very raw and very difficult and not a happy go lucky kind of a thing, especially as a queer person performing in it. It was something that was a real story and maybe didn't have a lot of separation from myself as a queer person, but still had that impact on other people. So I think that what I love most about it is that I can find different ways for it to be exactly what I need at any point in time, whether it's I need to watch it, whether it's I need to perform, whether it's I need to direct or write or research or whatever it may be. It's something that can be whatever I need it to be as an outlet, no matter what I'm experiencing or doing.
Speaker 2:I love that and also, as a theater and choir kid myself, I think you are so spot on with saying that it's a space for the weirdos. Absolutely true. I always feel like theater finds those of us at a young age that like really need it, that need that space to just go and just be fricking weirdos together. I love that Weird.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just be weird and a little gay. Yeah, exactly. So we've been talking about pride this whole time and your pride story, but I want to know what just that word pride means to you.
Speaker 1:That's a good one. To me, pride is a verb that makes sense, it's an action. Pride is not only an emotion that you can feel, which feeling something in and of itself is active, but pride is doing what you can for yourself, doing what you can for your community, for your world, and I think that, especially on lots of advocacy work and stuff that I've done, a lot of people are like well, I don't, I'm just me, I'm just like being myself and I can't do more than that. When, in the world that we live in, being yourself is enough, because, unfortunately, being yourself is something that other people have a problem with.
Speaker 1:Having pride, whether that's you're organizing a parade or a march or you're performing something that's pissing a bunch of people off, like whether that's what you're doing or you're just getting up and getting out of bed every day, is a form of pride and a form of activism. And so I think to me, when I think of pride, the reason that it's so closely related with individual stories is because to have a story is to have pride. I guess I don't know if that makes sense and so I think that it's not only just sort of like feeling and, you know, like gay pride month. We're out and we're loud and we're proud. Having pride is having any amount of you out there in the world.
Speaker 2:That is such an amazing perspective, and what the viewers can't see is me like nodding. So furiously on my side, so you got to watch that Very affirmant Lucky you. With that definition in mind, what are you proud of?
Speaker 1:I'm proud of myself, which is honestly, a very difficult thing for me to say, because if I'm just thinking about, oh, like I'm proud of myself, that means like I'm achieving my goals and the things that I've set out, I'm breaking my bad habits and that there's all these expectations. But the definition I just gave is not that. So I'm definitely having a little bit of a moment here where I'm like, oh, maybe I'm a little too hard on myself sometimes. So I am proud of myself because I am doing all of those things that I said getting out of bed, being myself, working and loving what I'm doing. I'm also really proud of my family and my community within biological family and that the stuff that I've gone through my family's gone through. So I'm really proud of the ways that each of us individually has been able to keep going in, not just keeping our head above the water, but working and doing not only what makes us happy but would make my parents really proud of us.
Speaker 1:And I am proud of the community that I had at CSU and the changes that we're able to have there. I am definitely starting to feel a sense of pride in being queer in this part of the country. I definitely think that, like I just got here, but the queer folks that have been here are here, have been here for a long time. It's just like I'm in awe and inspired, because it's a difficult place to be with a really complicated history. History is complex. The United States history is incredibly complex, no matter where you are, because the country itself is bounded on horrible things. So there's that, but I definitely am starting to see that sense of community here and I'm excited to be a part of that and I'm proud that it exists.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and you do have so much to be proud of, and I loved being able to kind of see that realization happen in real time. That's exactly why we're doing this, you know. So, all that being said, is there a message or a piece of advice you want to share with our listeners, particularly those who may be struggling with their own identity?
Speaker 1:I think I would definitely want to echo what I was told when I was, you know, very much in the pits of grief in that you don't have to have all the answers and you don't like. Nothing is permanent and I think that, as my little like control freak self, I hated hearing that. But in a way it's also really freeing, because whether it's coming out or picking a label for something, you can change your mind and you can change it again. And you can change your name and you can change it back, you can change your pronouns. It doesn't really matter, because nothing is permanent. You don't have to have a final answer for anything in your life, whether that's an identity, whether that's a career path, whether that's where you're living, any of that. Take it one day, one step, one decision at a time and know that you can change your mind about any of it if you want to.
Speaker 2:That is incredible advice for all of our listeners, and also for myself. That's a reminder that I need a lot of the time, because I'm also a control freak. So what else do you want to say? Is there anything that you haven't had an opportunity to share yet, that you were hoping to?
Speaker 1:I'm like trying to remember everything that I've said.
Speaker 1:Even if there are repeats, there's something you just like, want to make sure, go for it, I think, definitely on the side of advocacy and being proud of the work that you're doing and taking it seriously, when someone says that you just existing is enough, because I think it's really easy and I've definitely experienced advocacy burnout in my life where you're just doing so much and you're dealing with so much that you forget to rest and you forget to just exist because you think that existing or relaxing is slacking or betraying a cause, when it's just as important to rest and take breaks and let yourself off the hook.
Speaker 1:I guess, as it were, as it is to be out there organizing and demonstrating and fundraising and picketing, whatever it is that you're doing. I think it's really easy to think that you need to keep moving forward and working and exerting yourself, when, if you do that and you burn out, then you're not going to be making the impact that you thought you were and you're then also betraying yourself, which is someone that you're advocating for. So I think, just making sure that in the ability to go out there and do all of the great things for the gays, for whoever you're doing it for, that you're also taking care of yourself and not being too hard on yourself, because I've definitely been guilty of that, before thinking that I am not doing enough or I'm doing it wrong for the wrong people, when, honestly, I feel like the most mistakes are made when you're burnt out and tired.
Speaker 2:That is so true and, again, such a good reminder. So thank you for that and thank you, charlie, for being on Pride Stories the podcast, for being our very first guest ever and for sharing your story with us today. I am so excited to share it with our listeners.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Yeah, it's an honor to be the first one, so I appreciate you.
Speaker 2:Katie for doing this. Yeah, we'll get you, like a medal or a sash or something. I love a good accessory. Who doesn't.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to Pride Stories, the podcast. I'm your host, katie Beatty, and it's been an honor to bring this story to your ears. Pride Stories is proudly presented by Tell Well Story Co and Studio. We have an incredible team that makes this podcast possible, including executive producer Max Kringen, contributing producers Andrew Parsons, duncan Williamson and Annie Wood, with additional support by Emma Matik, matt Priggy, rosie Mortensen and the entire team at Tell Well. If you've been inspired, moved or entertained by anything you've heard in this episode, please consider supporting our mission, subscribe to the podcast, leave a 5-star review or simply share it with a friend or family member. Your support keeps the stories alive and resonating, and if you feel compelled to share your own Pride Story, we'd be honored to listen. Please visit the link in the description of this episode to get in touch. No matter where you are in your journey, whether you're out and proud or just finding your voice, remember you have a story to tell and it deserves to be heard.