She’s Fighting for a Kinder World

    In fifth grade, I went to a sleepover. I had recently moved to town, so I was thrilled to have a new group of friends. The night was so fun—we stayed up late and talked for hours.

    But then we got into a dumb fight about a video game. It was typical fifth-grade drama, until one of the girls looked at me and said: “We don’t want you around us because you’re gay.” 

    A few days earlier, I had casually told my best friend that I liked girls, not boys. I didn’t really think it was a big deal. But clearly it was—to some people.

    After the sleepover, the girls I had thought were my friends told everyone at school. I wanted to take it back or say they were lying. But that didn’t feel right. I am gay. I knew I had to be myself.

    In fifth grade, I went to a sleepover. I was new in town, so I was glad to have a group of friends. The night was fun. We stayed up late and talked for hours.

    But then we got into a dumb fight about a video game. It was normal fifth-grade drama, until one girl looked at me and said: “We don’t want you around us because you’re gay.”

    A few days before, I had casually told my best friend that I liked girls, not boys. I didn’t think it was a big deal. But clearly it was—to some people.

    After the sleepover, the girls I had thought were my friends told everyone at school. I wanted to take it back or say they were lying. But that didn’t feel right. I am gay. I knew I had to be myself.

    In fifth grade, I went to a sleepover. I had recently moved to town, so I was thrilled to have a new group of friends. The night was really fun—we stayed up late and talked for hours.

    But then we got into a silly argument about a video game. It was typical fifth-grade drama, until one of the girls looked at me and said, “We don’t want you around us because you’re gay.”

    A few days earlier, I had casually mentioned to my best friend that I liked girls, not boys. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but obviously it was—to some people.

    After the sleepover, the girls I had thought were my friends told everyone at school. I wanted to take it back or say they were lying, but that didn’t feel right. I am gay, and I knew I had to be myself.

    People always ask me when I figured out that I’m gay. I usually respond: “When did you figure out that you’re straight?” It’s just a thing I always knew. But it’s also not the most important thing about me. I love playing basketball and softball. I’m goofy and I laugh a lot. When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.

    After the sleepover, none of those things mattered. I lost almost all of my friends. Even the people who were still nice to me in private were afraid to stick up for me in public.

    Luckily, my family had my back. I started by coming out to my twin sister, Brielle. Having her on my side made it easier to tell my parents. When I did, they promised not to treat me any differently. I was so relieved! Their love got me through the hardest year of my life.

    People always ask me when I figured out that I’m gay. I usually answer: “When did you figure out that you’re straight?” It’s just a thing I always knew. But it’s not the most important thing about me. I love playing basketball and softball. I’m goofy and I laugh a lot. When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.

    After the sleepover, none of those things mattered. I lost almost all of my friends. Some people were still nice to me in private. But they were afraid to stick up for me in public.

    Luckily, my family had my back. I started by coming out to my twin sister, Brielle. That made it easier to tell my parents. They promised to treat me the same as before. Their love and support got me through the hardest year of my life.

    People always ask me when I figured out that I’m gay. My standard response is, “When did you figure out that you’re straight?” It’s something I’ve always known about myself, but it’s also not the most important thing about me. I enjoy playing basketball and softball. I’m goofy, and I tend to laugh a lot. When I grow up, I want to become a lawyer.

    After the sleepover, none of those things mattered. I lost practically all of my friends. Even the people who were still nice to me in private were afraid to stick up for me in public.

    Lucky for me, my family had my back. I started by coming out to my twin sister, Brielle. Having Brielle on my side made it easier to open up to my parents. When I did, they promised not to treat me any differently. Their love and support helped me to get through the most difficult year of my life.

    I was so excited to finally be a part of the high school’s GSA. So you can imagine how crushed I was when I got to ninth grade and learned that it had disbanded. At that moment, I made it my mission to get the club started again. I spent months doing research and emailing teachers. I even went in front of the whole school board to make my case. 

    As I stood in that room full of adults, my hands trembled. My heart pounded. But then I thought about how life-changing a GSA would be for all the other kids like me. I took a deep breath and told my story.

    My mom smiled at me from the back of the room. When I finally finished, I felt so proud. My principal came up to me—I had convinced her! She said she would help me get the GSA started again.

    I looked forward to joining the high school’s GSA. So I was crushed when I got to ninth grade and learned that it had disbanded. 

    I decided to get the club started again. I did research. I emailed teachers. I even went in front of the school board to make my case.

    As I stood in that room full of adults, my hands shook. My heart pounded. But I thought about how life-changing a GSA would be for other kids like me. I took a deep breath. And I told my story.

    My mom smiled at me from the back of the room. When I finished, I felt so proud. My principal came up to me. I had convinced her! She said she would help me get the GSA started again.

    I was really looking forward to joining the high school’s GSA, so you can probably imagine how crushed I felt when I started ninth grade and learned that the GSA had disbanded. From that moment on, I made it my mission to get the club started again. I spent months doing research and emailing teachers. I even spoke in front of the entire school board to make my case.

    As I stood in that room full of adults, my hands trembled and my heart pounded. But after I thought about how life-changing a GSA would be for all the other kids like me, I took a deep breath and told my story.

    My mom smiled at me from the back of the room. When I finally finished, I felt incredibly proud. My principal approached me to say that I had convinced her and that she would help me get the GSA started again.

    I’m a sophomore now, and the GSA has grown a lot. We have about 20 members! And honestly, the school feels different. There’s less bullying. Having such a large and active GSA sends a message that LGBTQ kids are accepted here. 

    It’s not always easy sharing my story. But if it can help just one other kid, it’s worth it. Even if you can’t count on your family or friends right now, you’re never alone. There’s always somewhere you can turn to for support.

    I’m a sophomore now. The GSA has grown. We have about 20 members! The school feels different. There’s less bullying. Having such a large and active GSA sends a message: LGBTQ kids are accepted here.

    Sharing my story isn’t always easy. But if it helps just one other kid, it’s worth it. Even if you can’t count on your family or friends right now, you’re not alone. There’s always somewhere you can go for support. 

    I’m a sophomore now, and the GSA has grown to about 20 members! The atmosphere at school is genuinely different, with less bullying. Having such a large and active GSA sends a message that LGBTQ kids are accepted here.

    It’s not always easy sharing my story—but if it can help just one other kid, it’s worth it. Even if you can’t rely on your family or friends right now, you’re never alone. There’s always somewhere you can turn to for support.

You Are Not Alone
Visit thetrevorproject.org for support via phone, text, and chat.

You Are Not Alone
Visit thetrevorproject.org for support via phone, text, and chat.

You Are Not Alone
Visit thetrevorproject.org for support via phone, text, and chat.