# This Year, My Pride Month Was Black. ![[!🧭 Marketing • 9.260625 Pride Hero - Banner.png|130%|1385]] Some months ago, I was invited to coach a workshop for Pride Month, directed at queer academics, professionals, and high potentials from around the world, especially from countries and cultures where it is extremely difficult to be queer. I happily accepted and planned to bring my signature workshop, which helps people connect with their personal values and life purpose statement, and craft an authentic LinkedIn headline based on that. ## Any Facilitator’s Nightmare But when I joined the Zoom, I was looking at black windows. 14 people had signed up. Out of those 14, eight actually joined. And out of these eight, only the host of the series opened their camera, opened their microphone, and was willing to share anything personal. My first reaction: I was frustrated and, honestly speaking, annoyed. This didn’t feel appreciative of the immense love, work, care, and wisdom that had gone into making this happen. And I was about to suggest we reschedule or cancel. One second later, I realized I was wrong. Behind those black screens, with names like “Anonymous 1A” or “Android phone,” there were courageous people. Real human beings. They were the small number of the invited who had had the courage to dial into an online conference with the title [“Out, Proud and Successful: Personal Branding for Queers.”](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasminaug_jasmina-globalcareersseries-pridemonth-activity-7466103391396687873-dfP2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAOk-i8B2-UYwu5PSukrsQJXaqQ66mcKT-c) A clearly queer title. In that moment I realized that my sweet little unicorn workshop was dangerous to join in large parts of the world. And I understood: the fact our guests were present at all was already testament to a level of courage, hope, and willingness to lean into discomfort that was way beyond any adventure that I, with my largely privileged life, ever had to face. Behind those silent black Zoom windows were magicians. Hidden magicians. And they were hidden for a reason. ## Fortunately, I’m Very Good at Talking (too much 🙈) So instead of trying to organize more participation, I pivoted from workshop to TED talk. My personal story, which had been intended as a short intro, became the backbone of the full first 90 minutes. I went raw and authentic. I shared vulnerable, personal pictures and stories, and used this as a setup for the theory part on crafting a “Map of Self”. While I have been using this framework for almost 15 years, by retelling it I front of this audience I discovered that it was connected with my personal journey much more deeply than I had ever realized. I shared without knowing who was listening, trying to offer what our guests couldn’t give back. Because it wasn’t safe at all: personal information. And in the process, I uncovered new connections about myself I had never seen before. While I was talking 90 minutes straight, my gut screamed “You’re info dumping! You’re making it all about yourself! This is bad coaching - stop it!”. But: No one left the call. Over time, more and more questions and contributions came up; and when I proposed to go more interactive, the group was clear - they wanted to hear more from me. So I leaned into the fun of finally info and trauma dumping with a purpose - and it seemed to work. ## My Personal Pride Hero 2026 But still: I felt I couldn’t keep talking just about myself. This was about the people in the Zoom. I felt the urge to give them space to think about their own lives, their own purpose statements, their own journeys. I didn’t want to keep speaking from the front. But how do you do that with a group that didn’t even feel safe sharing their first name? Luckily, [Mahdi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdi-mezghanni-64bbb7117/), the host of the workshop, volunteered spontaneously to take a big risk: without any preparation, he agreed to venture into a one-hour life purpose coaching session on stage - in front of people he didn’t know, who couldn’t show their faces or their voices. This became very personal, touching - and of course impossible to share here. Let me just say that in the end, I was in awe of this brave, resilient, and fearless fighter for human rights, this creative entrepreneur, and this courageous person. And it seems I was not the only one: The group warmly acknowledged him with emojis and chat messages. ## So This Is My Pride Month Post For This Year. And It Has Three Messages First, I want to thank everyone who came. For your presence, the courage to not give in, to never stop believing in hope in the face of inhumane, restrictive, dangerous, violent governments, neighbors, families, religions. **Thank you for showing up, as much as it was possible in a safe way.** Second, I want to make a statement. This world is fucked up. I often forget how unbelievably privileged I am, just for the fact that I am allowed to be myself in public. Just for the fact that I do not have to overly fear for my life, my job, my family connections by simply living out loud. I’m still not living in human rights heaven, but by and large, I’m usually safe. I know almost nothing about our guests behind those Zoom tiles, and I might be wrong. **But for me, in that moment, those black windows became the mirror of our colorful pride flags**. A massive reminder and visceral representation of the violence, the fear, the shame, and the brutality in our world today. But I don’t want to stop there. Yes, the world is fucked up. **And it’s also awesome, beautiful, and incredibly valuable. It’s full of life, initiative, humanity, freedom, courage, chances, entrepreneurship, and love.** And so, third, this year, for me, it’s worth being in this world in Pride Month **because of my personal Pride Superhero: [Mahdi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdi-mezghanni-64bbb7117/).** [Mahdi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdi-mezghanni-64bbb7117/), with your company, [Jasmina UG](https://joinjasmina.com/en/pagedetail/about-jasmina), you are a real-life Man of La Mancha: you chase a dream most call impossible, and you ride out to fight “the unbeatable foe” (from “The Impossible Dream”, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion - listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/124kqb5VEkK21Cy8qfoJ6g?si=TwBhUEsdQNyKrZNZBIlEmQ). **You never stop believing in hope, and you empower others to believe too, and to have fun in the process.** **I encourage everyone who has time, dedication, mentorship, or a need for incredible talent from around the world to support [Mahdi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdi-mezghanni-64bbb7117/) and his venture.** Because you are literally going where no one is going. You see that the world is disappointingly fucked up, but you never lose hope. You help people who haven’t lost their inner child, who haven’t lost their belief that they are worthy of love, belonging, existence, identity, creativity, adventures. Who know they are capable and smart and deserving of their chance - and it’s just an incredibly unfair world that forces them behind black screens for protection. **You work relentlessly to connect, to remind them to never stop believing in hope, to not go into resignation. And you remind them to have fun in the process.** **Thank you.** ![[Links & License]]