During 2003 I was working towards my Bachelors degree in Psychology at SFU and I wanted to gain some volunteer experience by helping those in my community. At that time I had already met my boyfriend (now husband of eight years) and I felt pretty comfortable with expressing my own sexuality. As such, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others who had gone through similar hardships as me. This is where my search for a volunteer opportunity led me to The Centre - now known as QMUNITY . I was young and somewhat inexperienced but I still felt empowered to share my own experiences with others and therefore I got the wonderful opportunity to co-facilitate a men's drop in group with one of my best friends. During this weekly group meetings my friend and I would encourage discussion around a specific topic by asking the participants to answer targeted questions. The group started small but after a few months it grew to twelve regular attendees. It was empowering to see

I'll be the first to admit that having grown up in Mexico City - a very Catholic and "machista" city - I never really felt comfortable playing with dolls as a kid. If I would have been caught playing with dolls at school or at a party I would have likely become a victim of social ridicule and bullying. Guys are supposed to like plastic cars, toy soldiers, monster trucks, cowboys and guns. I was always a little bit different than other boys I grew up with. I liked My Little Ponies, Care Bears , She-Ra, and yes... Barbie dolls . While I never actually openly played with dolls, I managed to steal one from one of my cousins during a sleepover weekend. It felt so wrong and yet so right. I was excited to get home to play with it. I remember hiding it underneath the washroom vanity and locking myself up to bring it out. Looking back now, I don't really know what I was so ashamed of. Society and cultural gender roles can have a big impact on the way we behave as both kid

I must say that I have never had as much fun during gay pride events as I did this year. It all started on Friday night with an awesome street party on Davie - a Vancouver street known for supporting gay people and businesses. On Saturday I headed to the closing ceremony for the Vancouver Out Games headlined by Dragonette and the one and only Ace Of Base . I still cannot believe I got to watch AOB perform live in concert! And not only that... my friend and I were lucky enough to be able to stand right in front of the stage. A dream come true for me. Both Dragonette and AOB were AMAZING live. Today the fun continued with the now classic Pride Parade in Vancouver's West End. There were lots of cool people around and festivities going on all day long. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. This was truly an unforgettable one!