Jacob, A High School Senior, Comes Out In A Speech... and it's posted to Youtube by his proud father!

This video is really lovely and encouraging, and it is a perfect Valentine's Day gift. Because really, in this life, the first person we need to love and respect is ourself!

I also love that Jacob's father loves him so much that he proudly shares this online!




The sound is a bit rough, so here's what Jacob says:

"So, I would like to thank everyone for voting me Class Actor.  Sure, I've been in a few plays and musicals, but more importantly I've been acting every single day of my life.  You see, I've been acting as someone I'm not.  When most of you see me every day, you see me acting the part of "straight Jacob," when I'm in fact an LGBT teen.  (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.)
Unlike millions of other LGBT teens who have had to act every day to avoid verbal harassment, physical violence, I'm not going to do it anymore.  It's time to end the hate in our society and accept the people for who they are regardless of their sex, race, orientation, or whatever else may be holding back love and friendship. So take me or leave me, or move me out of the way, because I am what I am, and that's how I'm going to act from now on."
Cheers from the crowd!

Inspiring!


Happy Valentine's Day - may it be full of love and pride for you, too!

Lee


ps - My thanks to Karol for sharing this with me, so I could share it with you!

pps- There's a follow-up interview Jacob did on MSNBC, where they ridiculously get the acronym Jacob used wrong, thinking he said LGBTT, when he said "LGBT Teen."  But his explanation of WHY he identified as LGBT rather than gay or bisexual was really interesting.  You can watch that video here.