The flailing bright flags during the rainbow-stricken afternoon car drive may have ceased to an end because of this quarantine. We all understand its importance to the physical human, but what of the mental, the spiritual? To us all: I hope you find comfort in your lover’s growing hair in your digital screen, even though it lags every two seconds. I hope you find your circle’s motivating words a real push towards every waking morning – where you wake up to endless errands from your parents, who make occasional boomer remarks about everything our generation has been fighting for. I hope you never lose hope. While it is true that this: COVID-19 pandemic, left and right anomalies from local to international politics, inhumanity, injustice, and all that negativity breeds are serious threats to us all, here I state, as an ally, as a young person, as your LGBTQ+ fellow, We will triumph, all this shall pass. Our minds are borne out of countless nights of self-terrorizing and anxiety, our hearts mended by acceptance and liberty. We will not stop now; we will be stronger now more than ever. We are a house – a home for people like us – the LGBTQ+. Together we breed bravery from warm replies of inspiration. Together we uphold moral righteousness from educated intellectual conversations. Together, we overcome. In this house, we see you, we hear you, and we feel you. To him, to her, to them, to you, I say, WELCOME HOME, WELCOME HOME!
-Luati is an Ilokana born in the Cordilleras. Definitely not straight, she has consistently showed who she really is to her family and friends ever since childhood. Though not officially out yet, she is definitely proud of the LGBTQ+ community.