The It Gets Better Project is a wonderful organization dedicated to showing LGBT kids that even though their experiences are tougher than most, things will get better. By shining a light on the "levels of happiness, potential, and positivity" their lives will reach, It Gets Better works hard to remind these kids to hang in there because it does get better. I know, because I survived the torment, confusion and self-questioning that comes with growing up gay.
I received an email a little while ago from LGBTQ Rights Causes, one of the many worthy projects of the Causes organization dedicated to making the world a better place. The email included a link to a video created by the LGBT community of Madison, Wisconsin in conjunction with the It Gets Better Project.
The video features the song "Hair," by one of the champions of LGBT causes, Lady Gaga, along with some very smooth and funky choreography. Like all of the material put out by the organization, this one shows kids that things do get better! Lady Gaga herself put her stamp of approval on the vid with a "This is so AMAZING" tweet. Check it out:
Here are some sobering statistics provided by the It Gets Better Project on the state of LGBT youth:
9 out of 10 LGBT youth have experienced harassment at school
LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 times as much as straight teens
More than 1/3 of all LGBT teens have attempted suicide
LGBT teens are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide as their straight counterparts
These statistics are an unfortunate reality, and thank goodness that there are organizations such as the It Gets Better Project out there who are doing something to change it. Since their inception, calls to the Trevor Project suicide hotline have increased more than 50%, helping to prevent the tragic losses of more of our innocent children and allowing them to experience their own happiness, their own potential and their own positivity.
Check out the It Gets Better Project
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Showing posts with label Youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Youth. Show all posts
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Saturday, April 9, 2011
A field trip...
Thursday was a long-awaited field trip for my students. As an ESL teacher in a 7-12 school, I am in the unique position of teaching the same core group of students year after year, and so we all get to know each other pretty well. At the beginning of each school year, they always ask me if we’re going to go on a field trip and I always start out with good intentions, but invariably I get caught up in the day to day duties of my job and I haven’t necessarily been a good teacher as far as field trips have been concerned.
This year I made a promise to myself that we’d take at least one, and I wanted to make it a good one, so I planned a long day trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with my students. We took the two-plus hour journey into the city on Thursday, April 7th and it was a great experience.
My students and I are very much like a family. We have fun together. We learn together. We argue and make up together. All of the personalities in the group are well defined and every single person has their place within the unit, and so the trip was more like a family outing than your typical school field trip.
Once we arrived in the city, we walked across Battery Park towards the streets in search of lunch, and that was where the real fun began. Perched on a pedestal near the entrance to the park stood Lady Liberty herself. She was one of those neo-peddlers who earn their wares dressed up as statues and posing for pictures with unsuspecting tourists. Of course this one was decked out in a green robe and crown.
Once the kids spotted her the cameras came out. They started clicking away as some of them made their way towards the figure to be in the photos. Lady Liberty wagged her finger in a no-no motion…she wanted money. Two of my students, Jaqi and Sonia, went to pose for a picture with the figure. Jaqi hadn’t noticed the finger wagging, and from my vantage point I could see Jaqi arguing with the statue. Within seconds, she pulled out a $5 bill and the cameras got busy again. The two of them went into model shoot mode as Lady Liberty struck funny poses for the cameras. A couple of other students got into the action and laughter was everywhere. It would be the first bit of genuine fun we’d get from the day.
After a quick lunch at Burger King, we had to head back towards the ferry to catch our boat. On the way, some of the kids were drawn to the many street vendors stationed on the sidewalk. As I crossed the street back towards the park, I turned back to see that some of the students had stopped to peruse the tables. The other teacher was with them, so I wasn’t worried about, but I knew we didn’t have much time to catch the ferry.
“C’mon, we’ve gotta catch the ferry!” I shouted back at the shopping students.
“We’re coming, we’re coming!…Ooh, Mr. Myers,” Sonia said, “look what I got.” She proceeded to show me the ten rings that she had bought from a costume jewelry peddler down the street. All I could do was roll my eyes and move on as I lead a dash to the ferry terminal. In the end, we missed the boat, the first of three we’d miss.
Even though the little shopping spree took us off our schedule, I took it in stride and just enjoyed every minute. We went to Liberty Island to see the real statue, where we had a group picture done and then went up inside the pedestal. A trip to the gift shop was the culprit for us missing our second ferry, and we ended up staying on the island until almost three o’clock, the time we were supposed to meet the bus driver at Battery Park…and we still had to make a stop at Ellis Island.
After a quick call to the driver, we hopped on the next ferry and sailed over to Ellis, where we’d only have a half an hour. We skipped the bulk of the museum and headed straight for the famous “Wall of Immigrants.” The kids did some etchings on the wall before we headed back to the ferry, which we ended up missing too. Another half-hour’s wait and we were finally headed back to where we started from. Soon we were on our way back to school.
All in all, the day was great fun. During the long ride back, some kids slept, others did homework, while still others had some more fun together. Without prodding from me, they all pitched in to clean the bus before we got back to the school. That’s the kind of kids they are. They made me proud throughout the day. We pulled into the school parking lot around 8PM and the long day was over.
The kids came in to school Friday morning exhausted and exhilarated, just like I was feeling. Many of them thanked me for the day, and I reciprocated. I had as much fun with them as they had with me and I feel honored to have given them a memorable day that they’ll keep in their minds for years to come. I love my job!
Here are some photos from the day:
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Saturday, April 2, 2011
April 2, 2011 - The NOW Generation
Its 6:30 Saturday evening and it’s the end of a beautiful day. I’d like to think that my dad gave us this wonderful sunshine in honor of his birthday and it couldn’t have been nicer except if it was a little warmer. Anyway, on with today’s post…
There’s a theme to today’s piece, and its one I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I may try and tackle it one day on Examiner, but for now I’ll take it from my own first-person point of view. At the risk of dating myself, I’ve come to be really disappointed in today’s youth, especially the gay ones. The Black Eyed Peas had a song on their “The E.N.D.” album called “NOW Generation.” Though there wasn’t a video for the song, I will post the audio for it below. The song talks about the narcissism and impatience of today’s generation of youngsters and I think it speaks volumes about them and the future.
Being my age in the gay community is an aberration, and abnormality. The young ones would just as soon not have us around. Just like in the entertainment business, someone my age is considered old and left for the proverbial pasture. Well I don’t feel old. In fact I feel better now than I ever did before and I think I look a lot younger than I am, yet even I feel the effects of the loathing that today’s youth generally has for us folks and I don’t like it.
"I'm not cocky...I just love myself!" - C. Aguilera
I am speaking from experience here and I will back it up with a couple of stories below. You see, I’ve never pursued a young person anywhere, but the ones I’ve had contact with have all pursued me. At this point in time I’ve had enough bad experiences that I’m starting to feel disdain for them in the same way they do us. All I can say is that karma is a bitch and Father Time yields to no one. Those who choose to act like assholes towards older people or anyone else for that matter will get it back someday. I only wish I was going to be around to see it!
Splash Friday
Last night did not turn out well. My friend and I met up as planned and had a decent time for awhile. Around 2AM, the two of us had gone downstairs to check out the music and we were dancing. Some guy who was dancing nearby came up and started dancing with me as I had my back to my friend. In a flash, he made a beeline away from us and around the bar. When I saw this I immediately went after him, but lost him in the crowd. WTF? I looked upstairs and there he was, dancing on the dance floor by himself, oblivious to the fact that I was even there.
It was typical, strange behavior that I’d experienced before with him. As I mentioned the other day, he’s young and very young-minded, narcissistic and rude. All he had to have done was say that he was going to check out the scene upstairs and I would’ve been fine with that, but he chose to be rude about it. And to make matters worse, he didn’t even realize he was being rude.
I was pissed and went straight to the coat room and left. I texted him from the car, telling him that I had left, but before calling him a few choice words. In about five minutes the texts started flying. You see, I was his ride home and of course, being the (dumb-idiotic-jerky) nice guy that I am, I ended up going back to the bar to get him. It was a good thing he texted me when he did because I was almost at the Midtown tunnel and beyond going back.
The ride home was awkward and I think he actually made a date towards the end of the ride, for he was texting back and forth with someone and it was 3:30AM. I dropped him off and figured it was the last I’d hear from him…at least that’s what I wanted, but he texted me this morning apologizing for what happened. I think he’d like to go to Splash again with me, but believe me, it won’t be for awhile!
Vanity is an appropriate name
Last week I mentioned a Facebook friend of mine named Craig Vanity. He’s a deejay who makes a lot of great mash-ups of dance songs. I put a link to his website and mentioned doing a future piece on him, but I think that’s all done with now. Well, he turned out to be another ass of today’s generation.
After posting about him on the blog, I sent him an email telling him about the mention and asking him if he’d answer some questions for a piece. I never received a response, but he posted something on his wall that I think referred to me. It went:
“really ppl aka creeps, stop messaging me in my inbox askin for my number and dick pix, thank you and gnite”
It’s obvious that if it was intended for me, the man doesn’t read, nor can he write. He probably just saw my face and age and came up with a conclusion, a wrong conclusion…and all because he doesn’t bother to read. In looking over his wall, I can see he’s typical of young people today: he uses a lot of profanity, talks about random inane things, and he doesn’t work. Well, of course I don’t know everything about the guy, but he gave up an opportunity to possibly be seen and heard by people who might never have ever heard of him otherwise, and for that I think he’s a jackass! Remember karma!
Of course there’s much more to the story. These are but two individuals that i have come in contact with who only see the world as being centered around their young selves. Of course, every generation has had that certain cockiness and self-serving minds, but this time it’s different. In this day of instant electronic messaging from a wide ranging set of mediums, they are an impatient, me-first generation, unlike their predessessors. They are the NOW Generation.
*Of course, this post generalizes a great deal. I have to acknowledge that there are a great number of people in today's generation who do not exhibit the qualities of narcissism and rudeness I've described above. The opinions expressed are based on personal experiences with a couple of young gay men, among many others I come across in daily life and are not meant to paint everyone with this broad brush. The folks that do exhibit these behaviors, though, do deserve to be exposed.
NOW Generation
We are the now generation
We are the generation now
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
I want money
I want it want it want it
Fast internet
Stay connected in a jet
Wi-fi, podcast
Blasting out an SMS
Text me and I text you back
Check me on the iChat
I'm all about that h t t p
You're a PC I'm a Mac
I want it..
Myspace in your space
Facebook is a new place
Dip divin' socializin'
I'll be out in cyber space
Google is my professor
Wikipedia checker
Checkin my account
Loggin in and loggin out
Baby I want it..
Now!
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
We are the now generation
I want I want I want it now
I want the cold hard cash
I want I want I want it now
And I just can't wait
I need it immediately
And I just can't wait
I want it immediately
Cause time can't wait and
I sure can't wait
I ain't got no patience
I sure can't wait
We are the now generation
We are the generation now
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
I want money
I want cold hard cash
I'll take your dollar and your euro
And you'll have a blast
So take your day and your credit
And stick it up your ass
And do it now!
I want it now!
Big money, give me mo' money
(Yeah I want it now!)
I need cas.. oh I need it bad
(I want it now!)
Quick in a hurry
Like your name is Flash
(I want it now!)
You make me wait?
And Im'a whip your ass
(I want it now!)
I want it now baby!
(Now!)
I want it
(Now!)
I want it
(Now!)
Now!
Fast, rapido
Really quick like torpedo
Need for speed is my credo
You need to feed this negrito
Sender, buyer, brother boat
Rapid like a thunder bolt
Activated rock the boat
Just ask Barack who broight the hope to
Now!
It was a now generation
And I just can't wait
I need it immediately
And I Just can't wait
I want it immediately
Cause if time can't wait then
I sure can't wait
I ain't got no patience
No I just can't wait
Not again
Expedite
No time for procrastination
Expedite
Improve my sensation
Tweet
There’s a theme to today’s piece, and its one I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I may try and tackle it one day on Examiner, but for now I’ll take it from my own first-person point of view. At the risk of dating myself, I’ve come to be really disappointed in today’s youth, especially the gay ones. The Black Eyed Peas had a song on their “The E.N.D.” album called “NOW Generation.” Though there wasn’t a video for the song, I will post the audio for it below. The song talks about the narcissism and impatience of today’s generation of youngsters and I think it speaks volumes about them and the future.
Being my age in the gay community is an aberration, and abnormality. The young ones would just as soon not have us around. Just like in the entertainment business, someone my age is considered old and left for the proverbial pasture. Well I don’t feel old. In fact I feel better now than I ever did before and I think I look a lot younger than I am, yet even I feel the effects of the loathing that today’s youth generally has for us folks and I don’t like it.
"I'm not cocky...I just love myself!" - C. Aguilera
I am speaking from experience here and I will back it up with a couple of stories below. You see, I’ve never pursued a young person anywhere, but the ones I’ve had contact with have all pursued me. At this point in time I’ve had enough bad experiences that I’m starting to feel disdain for them in the same way they do us. All I can say is that karma is a bitch and Father Time yields to no one. Those who choose to act like assholes towards older people or anyone else for that matter will get it back someday. I only wish I was going to be around to see it!
Splash Friday
Last night did not turn out well. My friend and I met up as planned and had a decent time for awhile. Around 2AM, the two of us had gone downstairs to check out the music and we were dancing. Some guy who was dancing nearby came up and started dancing with me as I had my back to my friend. In a flash, he made a beeline away from us and around the bar. When I saw this I immediately went after him, but lost him in the crowd. WTF? I looked upstairs and there he was, dancing on the dance floor by himself, oblivious to the fact that I was even there.
It was typical, strange behavior that I’d experienced before with him. As I mentioned the other day, he’s young and very young-minded, narcissistic and rude. All he had to have done was say that he was going to check out the scene upstairs and I would’ve been fine with that, but he chose to be rude about it. And to make matters worse, he didn’t even realize he was being rude.
I was pissed and went straight to the coat room and left. I texted him from the car, telling him that I had left, but before calling him a few choice words. In about five minutes the texts started flying. You see, I was his ride home and of course, being the (dumb-idiotic-jerky) nice guy that I am, I ended up going back to the bar to get him. It was a good thing he texted me when he did because I was almost at the Midtown tunnel and beyond going back.
The ride home was awkward and I think he actually made a date towards the end of the ride, for he was texting back and forth with someone and it was 3:30AM. I dropped him off and figured it was the last I’d hear from him…at least that’s what I wanted, but he texted me this morning apologizing for what happened. I think he’d like to go to Splash again with me, but believe me, it won’t be for awhile!
Vanity is an appropriate name
Last week I mentioned a Facebook friend of mine named Craig Vanity. He’s a deejay who makes a lot of great mash-ups of dance songs. I put a link to his website and mentioned doing a future piece on him, but I think that’s all done with now. Well, he turned out to be another ass of today’s generation.
After posting about him on the blog, I sent him an email telling him about the mention and asking him if he’d answer some questions for a piece. I never received a response, but he posted something on his wall that I think referred to me. It went:
“really ppl aka creeps, stop messaging me in my inbox askin for my number and dick pix, thank you and gnite”
It’s obvious that if it was intended for me, the man doesn’t read, nor can he write. He probably just saw my face and age and came up with a conclusion, a wrong conclusion…and all because he doesn’t bother to read. In looking over his wall, I can see he’s typical of young people today: he uses a lot of profanity, talks about random inane things, and he doesn’t work. Well, of course I don’t know everything about the guy, but he gave up an opportunity to possibly be seen and heard by people who might never have ever heard of him otherwise, and for that I think he’s a jackass! Remember karma!
Of course there’s much more to the story. These are but two individuals that i have come in contact with who only see the world as being centered around their young selves. Of course, every generation has had that certain cockiness and self-serving minds, but this time it’s different. In this day of instant electronic messaging from a wide ranging set of mediums, they are an impatient, me-first generation, unlike their predessessors. They are the NOW Generation.
*Of course, this post generalizes a great deal. I have to acknowledge that there are a great number of people in today's generation who do not exhibit the qualities of narcissism and rudeness I've described above. The opinions expressed are based on personal experiences with a couple of young gay men, among many others I come across in daily life and are not meant to paint everyone with this broad brush. The folks that do exhibit these behaviors, though, do deserve to be exposed.
NOW Generation
We are the now generation
We are the generation now
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
I want money
I want it want it want it
Fast internet
Stay connected in a jet
Wi-fi, podcast
Blasting out an SMS
Text me and I text you back
Check me on the iChat
I'm all about that h t t p
You're a PC I'm a Mac
I want it..
Myspace in your space
Facebook is a new place
Dip divin' socializin'
I'll be out in cyber space
Google is my professor
Wikipedia checker
Checkin my account
Loggin in and loggin out
Baby I want it..
Now!
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
We are the now generation
I want I want I want it now
I want the cold hard cash
I want I want I want it now
And I just can't wait
I need it immediately
And I just can't wait
I want it immediately
Cause time can't wait and
I sure can't wait
I ain't got no patience
I sure can't wait
We are the now generation
We are the generation now
This is the now generation
This is the generation now
I want money
I want cold hard cash
I'll take your dollar and your euro
And you'll have a blast
So take your day and your credit
And stick it up your ass
And do it now!
I want it now!
Big money, give me mo' money
(Yeah I want it now!)
I need cas.. oh I need it bad
(I want it now!)
Quick in a hurry
Like your name is Flash
(I want it now!)
You make me wait?
And Im'a whip your ass
(I want it now!)
I want it now baby!
(Now!)
I want it
(Now!)
I want it
(Now!)
Now!
Fast, rapido
Really quick like torpedo
Need for speed is my credo
You need to feed this negrito
Sender, buyer, brother boat
Rapid like a thunder bolt
Activated rock the boat
Just ask Barack who broight the hope to
Now!
It was a now generation
And I just can't wait
I need it immediately
And I Just can't wait
I want it immediately
Cause if time can't wait then
I sure can't wait
I ain't got no patience
No I just can't wait
Not again
Expedite
No time for procrastination
Expedite
Improve my sensation
Tweet
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