Imagine all the amazing experiences you have ahead of you

Fox 2 "Glee"
Last night, the Fox 2 television show “Glee” had a serious episode about suicide awareness when the character David Kurtofsky attempted suicide by hanging himself in his bedroom closet.

Kurtofsky was previously known on the show for being a homophobe and bully. But, it turns out his extreme bullying of gay students was a cover for being gay himself.

In last week’s episode, Kurtofsky proclaims his love for another male student — not knowing a fellow football player is eavesdropping in on the conversation. The football player tells everyone in Kurtofsky’s school, spray painted the word “fag” in red on his gym locker, and his classmates filled his Facebook page with gay slurs for the boy who hadn’t come out yet. And, as soon as he got home from school that night, he looked at his Facebook page, started crying, dressed in a suit, stood on a chair…and well you know what happens next.

And me, being me, literally screamed "NO!" at the television as this happened...like it was really was happening at that moment and Kurtofsky could hear me. But the sad thing is — this wasn’t just a television show. This is something that happens everyday to teens labeled as “different” who are personally attacked either on social media, behind their backs or in person. I know because at work, I have had several parents confront me about bullying in schools or read others news sources about it happening. And in many of these situations, these kids weren’t so lucky to be found before it was too late.

My favorite quote of the episode was, “Promise me that no matter how hopeless or alone you feel, you'll try your best to imagine all the amazing experiences you have ahead of you."

That’s what I encourage all of you to do today — think of at least one thing you have to look forward to. For Kurtofsky, the character Kurt painted him a picture of his life in 10 years — working as a sports agent with a handsome partner and a three-year-old son.

In the episode, picturing that was the first time Kurtofsky smiled.

One thing that I hope happens within the next 10 years is that there stops being so much discrimination towards those who are different than us. That is one thing I look forward to — that others see love is love and people are people, no matter what race, gender or sexual orientation.

For more information about the Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, visit thetrevorproject.org.

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