Six Months

Today marks the six-month point my career as celebrity blogger.

I started this whole endeavor with certain goals, specifically to explore what I considered to be the invisible gay community in the city of Detroit and make it a little easier for other people in my shoes (e.g. new-ish to the city) to find what took me a year to even start to get a grasp of. I also wanted to spotlight opportunities for gay socializing that rose above the typical dreck that this city offers in its regular gay scene. And finally, I wanted to joke around.

You can be the judge on how successful I have or have not been in achieving those goals, it really isn't for me to say. What I can comment on is how really quite transformative the entire blog process has been for me personally.

I stated early on and continue to believe that blogging is pretty narcissistic, especially in the way you traditionally see it executed. And I say that as a narcissist. But writing this has honestly changed my life for the better. After saying I wanted to connect with the community, I basically forced myself to chat more freely with gay people I meet, instead of feeling apprehensive or silently judged (I'm not the five-alarm hottie I was at 25). I explore my gay options more, and try to break out of my regular routine to try new places, if only so I can write about them. I have discovered that there are many people out there who feel like I do about the state of the gaytion.

It was after my second piece for Model D, Seven Steps to a Better Gay Detroit (ok, that is one other really cool thing about this - I sometimes actually get paid to write, something I love to do but is not my job), that I ended up at crowded party attended by some gay people I see around but never ever have met. I made a point of going up and introducing myself, because I know they are gay Detroiters and I know they have a passion for the city to which I can relate. I also threw a party at my home, since it's my gay duty and maybe a guest will get a glimpse of why I love living in Detroit. And I made a donation to the Triangle Foundation, an organization for which I have tremendous respect. I guess I realized that if I was going put all that advice in print I'd best get to steppin' and work my way through them! It's too bad I didn't open a gay bar yet.

In two weeks I mark the 20th anniversary of coming out of the closet. I came of age at a time when the gay community was political, angry and united. I would never wish a return to a situation like the height of the AIDS epidemic, but I miss that solidarity. I miss that feeling of being united in a common goal. I miss people being angry for being treated like second-class citizens.

If I can fine-tune my goal for this blog just a tiny bit going into its second six months, I would hope (in the most naive, I'm-gonna-change-the-world kind of way) that it can be a part of the re-formation - or at least increased visibility - of the gay community in Detroit. It could be as simple as getting everyone to show up at the same place on the same night. Maybe it's getting this fucking city and it's mayor to acknowledge the contributions of gay people in the city and make sure the whole damn gay world knows it's welcome here. Whatever it is, I want to do it.

So off I go, onto another Friday night of fun and frolic, looking for signs of intelligent gay life to report back to you, my beloved blog reader. The social consciousness stuff can start next week.

Besos,

SG