When I first heard about what had happened at Pulse on June 12, 2016, I was not in Orlando. I was in Washington, DC, for a leadership conference with several other UCF students.
We all had the same reactions as everyone else: shock, hurt, disappointment, fear, the list goes on and on.
But our group experienced something different. We were able to witness in person the outpouring of support from around the world.
Walking around DC, it was strange to realize that everyone in this city over 800 miles away knew about our town.
We met many people from all over at the leadership conference and when asked where we were from, we would say "UCF, it's in Orlando", proud to be representing our city in our nation's capitol. People's faces would immediately fall. They would apologize. They would pat our shoulder. We would say thank you and quickly change the subject.
We quickly learned to avoid the awkward conversations that it would be easier to say that we were from "Florida" not "UCF in Orlando".
We took a group trip to the White House and saw the American Flag atop the Oval Office at half mast, along with every other flag in the city. To know that the thousands of tourists walking by the White House this week automatically know why the flag is half mast and don't have to question it. It was strange to think about.
We actually attended the DC Pride Parade the day before the incident. To be able to stand in a crowd, surrounded by people who were happy, dancing, singing, being with their friends, catching beads, and expressing themselves was absolutely unforgettable. The LGBTQIA+ community was so welcoming and and loving to all of us.
But the next day, the rainbow flags scattered through DC expressing support for Pride Week, now hung in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ communities of Orlando and the world. The DC Pride Parade marched not just for LGBTQIA+ people around the world, but for those of the community who have been discriminated against simply because they were different. For those who lost their lives, in Orlando and otherwise. For those who still struggle today.
While at the conference, the French Ambassador to the United States came to speak to us about the Paris Agreements. Before he began his speech, he offered his and France's condolences for what happened in Orlando only the day before. Later, he was taking questions from the audience and I was chosen. Before asking him my question, I prefaced it by saying that my group and I were from Orlando. I thanked him and the French people for their support and condolences. I expressed how much it meant to our group and Orlando that he would take time to speak on the tragedy. When I finished, the entire room erupted in applause.
I was walking to the conference two days after and we walked past a Methodist Church. Their sign out front advertised their 10:00 am service and a 12:00 pm Orlando vigil. There were a few churchgoers outside and I stopped to speak with them. I told them that I was from Orlando and that I had noticed their sign. I thanked them for their support and love. I told them that it meant a lot, not only to me, but to Orlando as a whole to know that they cared enough to set aside time to pray for the victims and their families. I then wished them a good day and continued on to the conference. One of the women almost started crying.
To know that people all over this country, and the world for that matter, now know the name Orlando is still odd to me. Orlando is no longer synonymous with Disney and UCF and vacations and happiness. Orlando now means the town where America's deadliest mass shooting occurred.
Orlando is a strong city and we will recover. But we won't do it alone. We don't have to. We'll do it with support from our family all over the United States and beyond.
Thank you to everyone, wherever you are, for showing your support for Orlando in this difficult time. It really does mean so much to know that we don't have to go through this alone.
And to those of you still struggling, whether you're part of the LGBTQIA+ community or the Latinx community or the Orlando community, you're not alone. We are all here for each other. We are #OrlandoStrong
