Being able to become who you are is the best thing that can happen to anyone. That goes for me when I first moved to the United States from Asia in the late 1990s. The most inspiring moment that I could recall was when my partner, Cannon Flowers, and I participated in the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade in 2000. It’s a feeling that I can still remember — how liberated I felt, being able to express who I am as a gay person compared to when I was growing up in Singapore. And for this, I will never take it for granted, for the gay pioneers had paved the way for us.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 13, 2013.