The Lambda Ampersand Award for LGBTQIA+ Writing is provided in partnership by Lambda Literary and the National English Honor Society (NEHS). The award recognizes outstanding creative writing by NEHS student members representing or celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. We’d like to congratulate Riley DoRosario, author of “How to Walk” as a winner of the 2025 award.
HOW TO WALK
by Riley DoRosario, Massachusetts
Walking is putting one foot in front of the other without fully leaving the ground.
We walk in and out of each other’s lives every day. Some people stay to walk alongside us while others walk away. Everyone walks in different ways, even though we all evolved from the homosapiens who first walked 6 million years ago. Some people, I have noticed, are afraid of people who walk differently to themselves. I know this is not true for everyone; however, these people have the tendency to walk into my mind and make me feel like I am always walking the plank.
I walked the plank when coming out to my parents. I am able to walk which I know makes me fortunate. I was able to come out to my parents after two years, which I know makes me fortunate. My parents love me, which makes me fortunate.
The walk to my dad‘s car was much further than across the driveway: The real walk of sharing this part of myself with my dad started freshman year when I first questioned how I was meant to walk. It continued into sophomore year as I found out that I liked girls, or maybe at least realized that I liked girls too; I am still trying to figure that part out. The walk of joining GSA Club is more than just walking to a classroom down the hall. Walking through a majority conservative student body and past all my friends to join a group of new people, in support of a whole community of unfamiliar people, was the true walk.
These two situations have ultimately resulted positively for me. My family accepts me for who I am as I try to find out, and I am not alone in that process. I think any walk of self-discovery is not unfamiliar to anyone at their core: no matter if someone is walking toward finding their sexuality, gender, career, or hobbies, everyone is walking and evolving.
Regardless of how people react to my walk, I believe those who do not make a connection between themselves and the people around them while walking are losing out. Walking in the city during Pride in June, with my palms sweating, was more than a walk down the street.
No one’s walk is flawless and no one’s walk is the same. This walk allowed me to eventually share that I have a girlfriend with the world. This was gradual, and the walk itself was, at times, an obstacle, but I am stronger for it. The walk of writing down these experiences is a walk within itself.
I am a runner, and I admittedly do not favor walks, but I know the walks I do take are necessary to allow me to race. I have to be able to walk on my own to be able to run. I have to be able to be confident in myself to be able to share that with others. Although sometimes I walk alone, I know it’s worth it in the long run.
To learn more about the Ampersand Awards, visit: nehs.us/awards-grants/student-opportunities/lambda-lgbt-award/
