35W Bridge Rainbow Lighting for Twin Cities Pride

If you didn't get the chance to see the beautiful lighting of the 35W bridge this past weekend, you missed something spectacular. When I first stepped foot on the pedestrian bridge, I could barely see 35W because of the vast number of people filling the railings. But when I was able to make it through them and to the bridge, I honestly got a bit teary eyed. The entire length of the 35W bridge was lit up with rainbow lights and it was like a giant beacon in the heart of Minneapolis saying to the world "We love our people, not matter what. We support you and welcome truly home". If you didn't have a chance to see it, I've posted a video below:

Much Love

-LintheTC

ADD: Here's a picture of it, though it does not do the bridge justice

Some Pride in the Park

This past weekend was Twin Cities Pride Festival and for those of you who don't know, the celebration in the twin cities in the 3rd largest in the nation. Loring Park in Minneapolis becomes a queer Mecca for the weekend, filling every square inch with 5 music stages, a variety of tents about everything from LGBT friendly churches to leather shops, and even a kid's play zone, doggy park and canoe rides. The festival draws all types of queer individuals from all over the state and beyond and its almost overwhelming to see that many GLBTQA's in one area.

This is only my second time attending the festival and I still don't think I made it to everything but it was an amazing experience yet again. It's like walking into a strange wonderland where everyone smiles at you when you're holding a girls hand instead of trying to explain to their kids why they shouldn't stare. Everywhere you turn there are rainbows and even with the visual overload from all the colors, they automatically make you smile, even if rainbows aren't really your thing (though if you're not a fan of rainbows, I doubt Twin Cities Pride is where you should be spending your time).

It was nice to finally see some more of my "people" around the park but the problem is you can't really awkwardly introduce you're self as you're volunteering for festival security. I did make a few interesting finds on some activism groups to get involved with and hopefully it will be a nice way to meet some more queer people outside of this one weekend a year.

More on the festival to come later, plus the parade!

Much love!

-LintheTC

What is it about soccer players? Take One

So a little story time....

I've been playing soccer since I can remember. I probably started playing soccer before I could write my name. I was never the fastest on the team or the one who scored the most points. As a matter of fact, when I was old enough to actually play a position, I kept on the defense in the back as a sweeper. But I held my own and its always been a sport I enjoy, even though I'm not the most athletic person in the world.

Flash back to middle school. It's the middle of summer of the summer season and our team is away at a weekend tournament. This particular weekend happens to be one of the absolute hottest of the entire summer and the heat is so bad we are required to take water breaks every fifteen minutes so none of us pass out. But of course we're all tough midwestern soccer players so we are exhausting ourselves any way and playing probably harder than we'd played all summer long.

I'm playing sweeper in the back and its the last few minutes of the first half and a member of the opposite team comes sprinting at me with the ball, looking at if she's coming for blood. I come up from the side and end up knocking both of us to the ground as the whistle blows to end the half. I get up and reach to give her a hand when I finally get a look at her face...and the only thought thats going through my head is that she is one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. We make that awkward middle school eye contact for what seems like an hour and then sprint to our respective benches. But all through half-time, I sneak glimpses across the field and without fail, always catch this mysterious athlete looking my way.

The second half is a bit of blur because no matter how hard I try to concentrate on that little black and white ball shooting around the field, all that is on my mind is that girl. We ended up loosing the game but as always, we run in to shake hands with the other team. I'm at the end of the line because of the absent minded state this girl has put me in. I get to the end of the line and someone from the other team has decided to hold onto my hand instead of a simple shake, so I look up...and there she is. The minute I make eye contact, she lets go.

And thats the moment I fell in love with a soccer player...and I've never been able to shake them since. There's just something about soccer players that always steals my heart. More about that one later ;)

Here's a beautiful Pride weekend!

Much love.

-LintheTC

Queer clouds and rainbows on a rainy summer night

These beautiful yet ominous clouds that are circling my house at the moment seem to have a little queer in them. They don't seem like they prefer one type of weather to another. They are dark purple and rumbling one minute, gushing with rain and soaking everything in site one minute and the next they are a silvery grey, gently rolling past seemingly preferring the drier side of life. Some people might say that these clouds can't make up their minds. Some people might say they are just pretending to be one or the other but they don't want to decide. Others might say that this rain phase is temporary and eventually they'll get over it.

I'd say that they just love everything and enjoy making everyone happy whether thats someone wanting some dry shade or a plant thirsting for water. They are vessels of openness and equal opportunity. I'd say their the smart ones who've realized variety makes like a lot more fun. And I don't find it frustrating or offensive; I find it beautiful.

Plus, after its all said and done, they get to end their day with a rainbow so it can't be half bad :)

-LintheTC

So let's do this blog thing

So this is the first official post to what I hope to be an informative and well-intended blog giving a small perspective into one young lesbian's life living in the Twin Cities.

I've realized that living here, in what was recently declared the "gayest" city in the country and in a state that has one of the largest LGBT populations, there is nothing really out there about what its actually like to be a young queer in the twin cities so I thought, well I might as well have a crack at it.

So a little bit about me....

I'm 22 years old and just graduated from a very liberal arts college in the midwest. I spend a lot of my free time playing guitar, knitting and taking pictures. I'm the most indecisive person you'll ever meet and love to bake cookies if you're feeling blue.

I've known I was "different" as they say from a young age and have liked girls as long as I can remember but didn't really have a chance to fully figure all of this out until I hit college, probably due to the fact that a) I attended a bit of a brain washing church and b) independence brings with it reflection. But we can get into all of those fun things later.

Here's to the start of a beautiful friendship blogspot :)

-LintheTC