Paris Is Burning
Octavia St. Laurent's inspiring monologue
Watching clips of the 1990 Documentary Paris Is Burning was a life changing for me. The film allowed trans people and drag performers to tell their stories. It explored their love for art and being true to themselves. It also shed light on issues such as homophobia, AIDS, racism, poverty, etc. What inspired me to write this was Octavia St. Laurent’s monologue in the documentary. She was a prominent figure in the NYC ballroom scene 1980s. She was also an AIDS educator and active the Latino and Black ballroom community.
“I just hope when I die, God forgives me for what I have made my life and that I think that he knew what I was going to be the day I was born. I think he has this all planned out to find out how I would take this, and how I would carry it. Y’know what I’m saying? I don’t think- I think God does things because he wants to know, if he gives you this and if he gives you this honor, to make me pass as a woman, what would I do with it?”
When I heard this for the first time, I was truly inspired. It really spoke to me because I understand the need to do something because you feel connected to it, but also scared that it won’t work out or it wasn’t meant for me. But if I really feel this deeply for something, and I keep getting pulled towards it and drawn to it, then it IS meant for me. God, the universe, or whoever or whatever you believe in, doesn’t make mistakes. You are the way you are because you were meant to be. Another quote comes to mind while writing this. It’s the FFA motto (I was a member of FFA for 3 years).
“Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve".”
We learn to follow our dreams, we follow our passions to learn more about ourselves and others, we earn knowledge and money to live a fulfilling life, and we live to make a positive impact on ourselves and others.
I highly recommend watching Paris Is Burning! (You can watch on HBO Max or YouTube)