#OCDcon2023 day 1

It's finally here! The first day of the annual International OCD Foundation's Annual Conference is today. (Well---today is Thursday, with some activities tonight---it officially begins on tomorrow, Friday July 7.)

My brother and I flew in on July 4th--despite turbulence and plane malfunctions we made it to the conference hotel at about 10pm (San Francisco time.)

This year, my sister and oldest nephew are here with me and my brother! My sister is a travel agent specializing in Disney---with the 2024 conference being held in Orlando, Florida, she has a booth in the exhibit hall. My oldest nephew, J, (going into junior year of high school) came along to help with the booth in the exhibit hall (and have a fun vacation!)

We aren't allowed to pick up our badges until 2pm--- I think this is my 6th conference. When I went to my first OCD conference (Chicago, 2016) I had just graduated high school. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea that I would find lifelong friends and catch the speaking "bug"---I first spoke at the 2017 conference, in San Francisco--on the first ever panel about LGBTQIA+ issues in treatment.

As I wait for my friends to arrive (and as I count the minutes until 2pm) I am buzzing with excitement.

Stay tuned for another awesome blog post---featuring the story of the sensory room (first ever!) at this year's conference.