It Gets Better

I love all things Dan Savage and this video made my day. It's the first post from the It Gets Better project, started by Dan to encourage LGBT teens to stick it out until they get out of high school and realize that the provincial half-wits that bullied them can't affect their lives anymore. Dan and his partner tell their "how we met" story, talk about their son and generally talk about the awesome lives they carved out for themselves.

This message is great not just for LGBT kids but for anyone who's bullied in high school and might be losing sight of the big picture. As a teenager I was harassed constantly for dying my hair purple and dressing funny ─ things were thrown at me, I was spat on and called a freak and a dyke, barely a day went by where I wasn't called ugly or repulsively weird. My mom would tell me the exact same thing that Terry says toward the end of this video: "Living well is the best revenge." The brilliance of clinging to this advice was that it helped me ignore the bullies (most of the time) and by the time I started living the life I wanted to, I didn't care about the revenge part because I was happier. Thanks Dan and Terry. Thanks Mom.