The Emerald City...It Can Be Yours!

The sun sets on the mighty metropolis.

There's no way to over-sell how remarkable this city is...New York City is not only my home, it does just on the basis of its luster feel like the center of the universe. Today the temperature rose to almost 85 degrees, which is pretty remarkable for this early into the spring. Not that I'm complaining. This is when the city starts to look its most beautiful and when you start to realize how miraculous being alive really is.

Yes...New York City in the spring time can do that to you. Make you feel like you're in the center of everything!

Pride season is about to begin and across the country every major metropolis will be waving the rainbow flag...this year NYC will have a great deal to celebrate, especially its first year of "marital bliss". Last year Marriage Equality was passed in our state and joined the handful of other principalities that support equality for all its citizens...and not just a handful of the privileged few. That's right – equality is a right, guaranteed under our Constitution – don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's not something that you can buy. It's not something on a shelf. Freedom and equality is something that people everywhere are fighting for.

Don't think we have to fight for that equality every day and cherish that freedom that is afforded to everyone -- one nation under God.

And as the weather begins to warm up and gives us a glimpse into what the season has in store for us, you can't help but be grateful for every opportunity that you are given. It's a reminder that we all have a lot of living left to do and that everyday is a gift. I learned this from my friend Daved Beck.

It's easy to take for granted how different life is for those of us not living in an urban center. There are young people across the country living in small townships that have challenges of their own...and yes regardless of where you live in this country, it's important to be yourself. Embrace your home - that's where the heart is, but don't allow yourself to be motivated by fear to turn down a dark path or away from the people that love you.

I'm reminded of The Wizard of OZ - I know...how gay is that - but really when you think about, here was this girl - Dorothy - from Kansas who was dropped in the middle of the strangest kind of circumstance, in a world that she really didn't understand. She was told to "follow the yellow brick road" to the Emerald City and along the way she met a colorful and imperfectly perfect cast of characters. Together they had the adventure of a lifetime. When Dorothy returned home to Kansas from the spectacle of it all through the magic of her ruby slippers to the chant of "There's no place like home" her life may have been irrevocably changed, but at the core she was still the same small-town girl, but every possibility was open to her.

Everyone can't travel somewhere over the rainbow, but OZ is only a click of your heels away...and remember that wherever you are that is your Emerald City. Where you will always have the wisdom, the heart and the courage to be who you are and be loved the most.

Spring does this to me - it makes me an optimist to the wonder of it all; it opens up all of the possibilities. It makes me appreciate that anything can happen...and it makes me believe that somewhere someone is cheering you on. That you don't have to be afraid. It's worth the risk. Here's to spring! Let the sun shine in.

JC Alvarez is the host and personality behind the nationally syndicated radio-show "Out Loud & Live!" on Modern World Radio (www.modernworldradio.com) and is also a pop-culture/celebrity columnist and Nightlife Editor for EDGE On The Net (www.edgeonthenet.com).