2015: Love is a beautiful thing, everyone should have the freedom to experience it. Before you start getting curious about my sexual orientation, let me just say that when I fall in love with someone, it is usually because of their personality and how they make me feel. It doesn't have much to do with their genitals. If that makes me a bisexual/pansexual, then so be it. Label me with whatever name you wish, but I believe love is love, and you don't have to be of any particular gender or sexual preference to support that.
Pink Dot SG 2015 was my first LGBT rally. It was their 7th year running, held at Hong Lim Park, Singapore. I flew down from KL for this event, and I must say, it didn't disappoint me.
At 2pm, I met up with local Couchsurfing members and we made our way to the park. There were not many people yet. The organizers were setting up stalls and distributing flyers, while the performers were rehearsing on stage. So we spread out our picnic mats and all the food and snacks each of us brought. By 4pm, there were more people streaming in, all donning pink. I saw lots of beautiful families, many of them comprising same-sex parents. There were also cute little dogs in pink!
At the entrance, volunteers were giving free hugs to the newcomers. I got myself some hugs too, because I was a lonely soul so deprived of affection. And those volunteers were cute. Haha. Meanwhile, surrounding the park were booths advertising their organizations and giving away freebies including balloons, stickers, badges, lollipops, cotton candy, popcorn and photography service. With all those free stuff, I was one happy lady! I even got to jump like crazy on the trampolines provided.
At 5pm, the show began with speeches by the ambassadors and members of the LGBT community, followed by performances by local artistes. And after that, when it started to get dark, we were told to pack up our stuff and get ready for the most exciting part of the event. The anticipation grew higher as we sang the national anthem "Majulah Singapura", with tears in our eyes. (I don't know why I cried. I'm Malaysian.) Then there was a countdown before we all lit up the park with our pink torch-lights that we had been given earlier.
Throughout the day the weather was so good, and not too hot. Apparently there was an anti-LGBT movement who prayed that it would rain on that day, but surprise surprise, it didn't, save for some light drizzle towards the end, and even then it didn't last more than 10 minutes.
There were so many amazing people at this event, and although I didn't personally meet all of them, I read some of their stories, and admired their journeys. Haters are gonna be haters, and well, shame on them, really. With a turnout of over 28,000 people, the event was a huge success, which I'm proud to have been a part of.
Photos courtesy of Ch Chua
