July 22, 2026
Friend, I've discovered something.
There's been a lot on my plate these past couple of days. I've been running around, taking care of what feels like an endless list of tasks. In case you haven't heard, next week is the very first Bi+ World Conference happening in Amsterdam, and I'm wearing a gazillion hats for it!
The conference is being co-hosted by Bi+ Nederland and Bi+ Equal, two organizations incredibly dedicated to responding to the needs of Bi+ people. I also happen to be on the board of Bi+ Equal-- hence all the running around with tasks.
There's a lot of moving parts. The full Board of Bi+ Equal is hosting 3 events during the conference, I'm also representing Bisexual Killjoy with a session, there's a fashion show that requires my presence, and someone just asked me for an interview. And that's not mentioning all the pre-conference prep.
Like, I don't even know if I have enough outfits for this conference.
I was sharing this first-world distress with my best friend. Telling her all about being pulled a million different ways, when she said, "Yeah, I'm frustrated planning a one-day trip. I can't imagine being an Important Person at a world conference."
I froze for a second. Was she... right? I'm an Important Person at this thing?
One of my biggest audacity-filled dreams is being someone, doing something, that gets written about in history books. It's a dream I told my mom when I was seven years old. I first thought my big discovery was going to be revolutionizing air travel. (Before I became a sociologist, I was going to be an aerospace engineer.) Over the past three or so years, I've wondered if I could make a big discovery as a Bi+ expert person.
When my best friend said the whole "Important Person" thing, I saw a glimpse of what that could be.
It shifted my perspective on my to-do list and the conference itself, even.
It's not that my schedule is full with "things to do." It's that my days are full with Bi+ joy, discovery, excitement, and people to meet! I get to discover what else Bi+ communities around the world have been wanting, and build something from that.
This is not an area where I have mentors. While community building, public speaking, and teaching are some of my most noteworthy strengths, I've never had anyone who could mentor me on how to put these skills to good use. All I have achieved so far has been from sheer determination, instinct, and bisexual spite.
I almost can't believe it's gotten me this far.
But looking back at the past decade, I'm noticing all the glimmers that showed me this reality. How inevitable it was that I got here.
- The excitement at giving presentations in high school.
- That first TikTok video about Bi+ erasure strategies with a comment that said, "Here before viral!"
- Teaching my grad professor about bisexual theory so I could write my final paper on it.
- Standing at the podium during mic-checks just to feel myself standing on a stage.
These weren't just moments. They were rehearsals for the inevitability of my life path. The process of becoming myself. Glimmers of a true self shining through.
Hindsight is 20/20, but perhaps now, I can slow down and pay closer attention to glimmers as they appear. Something that feels right, an action that happens seamlessly. A moment that feels like it's straight out of a fairytale, or an audacity-filled daydream.
Our dreams have a breath. We must attune to our souls enough so we can breathe with them.
Embracing the glimmers and glimpses,
Jace
