1. Become aware of how and when you tearing yourself down.
2. Now that you can catch yourself doing it. Offer counters to the negative self talk. A really useful thing I read was to talk to yourself almost the way you would child. Gentle and patient. Even when they fuck up.
3. Take time to celebrate your small accomplishments. You’ve been attacking yourself for every little mistake. Apply that same fervor to the positive things in your life. Did the dishes even though you didn’t want to? Fuck yeah! Got up and took shower? YES!!! You are taking positive steps to feeling better. Celebrate it.
4. Make lists of things you’re good at/ like about yourself. The first time I did this the only two things in my list we’re that I liked my hair and I had good friends. It was start.
5. Don’t beat yourself up if you screw up steps 1-4. It’s counter productive. When I catch myself calling my self stupid for some mistake or other my response now is,“We don’t talk to ourselves like that anymore. What’s something constructive that could actually help solve the problem.”
Most of the time that seems to work. Not always. But more and more Everytime.
Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project has collected over 60,000 video stories from LGBTQ people and their allies from around the world. Here are some of our favorites from June 2017.
1. #PorUnFinalFeliz – “For A Happy Ending” Campaign
Through July, our affiliate in Chile, Todo Mejora, continues the campaign Por Un Final Feliz with the help of several media partners. A number of new videos have been uploaded to their YouTube page featuring uplifting stories from Chilean young people, as well as messages of hope from actors and other popular figures.
2. El Summit 2017 de Pride Connection Summit – It Gets Better México
It Gets Better México participated in the 2017 Pride Connection Summit and has a large number of It Gets Better videos uploaded to their YouTube page from other participants they came across there. Featured below is Carlos Maza, a manager over at Moovz, a global LGBT social network that’s particularly popular in Latin America. Pride Connection aims to foster inclusive company cultures for LGBTQ employees at professional work places across the world.
In July, we heard from some of the kids featured in the documentary Check It, which chronicles the journey of a group of young black LGBTQ men and women in Washington D.C., breaking out of poverty by launching clothing labels, walking runways, and putting on fashion shows. Emerging from violence and harassment, they made a family where they didn’t have one.
“Life for the Check It can be brutal, but it’s also full of hope and an indomitable resilience.”
In this series of videos, various members of the Check It share their stories & their messages for others in the LGBTQ community.
EL PAÍS is a daily newspaper based in Madrid, Spain with a circulation of over 15 million unique readers. In this video, a number of their staff have words of encouragement for LGBTQ jóvenes – young people.
5. Petra Bayr, a Member of Austrian Parliament, Says “It Gets Better”!
Petra Bayr knows that there is bullying and even violence against LGBTQ young people in her country. But as part of the government, she she hopes she can encourage young people to come out and stresses that things will be better.
Craving more?! Go to www.itgetsbetter.org, or keep scrolling to learn more about the cool things It Gets Better and its affiliates are doing around the world.
Colombia: It Gets Better Colombia marched for Pride in Bogotá alongside 150,000 other passionate fighters for the LGBTQ community.
España: Our affiliate in Spain also marched at World Pride 2017 alongside our Portuguese and Austrian affiliates! Supported by Lush Spain, we were proud to spread hope for LGBTQ youth around the world.
Paraguay: Meanwhile, It Gets Better Paraguay was busy participating in the first module of a workshop for a leadership school in Oviedo where they educated and empowered young people on topics of human rights.
Greece: Finally, It Gets Better Greece marched at both Pride events in Athens and Thessaloniki. “Ήταν ένα εξαίσιο (It was exquisite!)” they said.
On the International Day of Trans Visibility (March 31), Ethan Lewis joined the Ambassadors program of It Gets Better España and wanted to send a message to tell you that it does get better.
Pilar is a stylist, who loves theater and dancing. For Trans Day of Visibility, she talks about how the support and love of her closest friends and family helped her find her true essence and wear it with pride.
You can always trust our affiliate in Austria to share testimonies of LGBTQ+ people for the benefit of LGBTQ+ youth month after month. Meet Christina Praßl.
We sat down with actress Josie Totah to discuss the struggles she faced growing up in the spotlight, coming into her own and the importance of Trans Day Of Visibility!
Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project has collected over 60,000 video stories from LGBTQ people and their allies from around the world. Here are some of our favorites from June 2017.
1. Advice From Your Favorite Drag Queens - DragCon 2017
At this year’s DragCon, we met up with some of RuPaul Drag Race’s most wise & hilarious drag queens to ask them for the advice they’d give young people in today’s LGBTQ community.
We partnered with SAGE Table to start conversations with LGBTQ community members of varying generations and backgrounds. Among them were social media creator Shannon Beveridge, Matthieu Dahdah, our own intern McKenna Palmer, and more. The crux: how can we change our future without knowing our past?
3. President Michelle Bachelet - President of Chile
President Michelle Bachelet advocates for the LGBTQI youths of Chile – for their talents and abilities through which a more democratic, inclusive, and tolerant Chile will be built.
“There is a world of possibilities waiting for you,” she promises. [Though she says: “hay un mundo lleno de posibilidades esperándolos”]
Google employees assure others from the LGBTQ community that the future is for them – that it’s for everyone, and that they don’t need to worry about being “normal.”
“Normality” is a beautifully diverse world, they assert.
Craving more?! Go to www.itgetsbetter.org, or keep scrolling to learn more about the cool things It Gets Better and its affiliates are doing around the world.
COLOMBIA: It Gets Better Colombia participated in Pride Month by Marching through Bucaramanga. They invited participants to share their photos using the hashtag #unamarchalgbt
MÉXICO: Our team in México also marched for Pride! Check out their photos across Mexico City on their Facebook here, along with other organized Pride marches alongside the U.S. Embassy, AT&T, Nielson, and more.
CHILÉ: Our affiliate in Chile has launched a new campaign #PorUnFinalFeliz which hopes to provide welfare and assistance to LGBTQ adolescents targeted by bullying or who otherwise have suicidal thoughts. For information on how to contribute, access more information here.
Our executive director Brian Wenke spoke with Youth Today about It Gets Better, sharing both his personal story and elaborating on the message of our project.
Life really does get better for most LGBT teens as they get older, say researchers at Northwestern University.
They followed 231 LGBT 16- to 20-year-olds, contacting each of them six times during a 3½- year period. Researchers published their results in the Journal of Adolescent Health in March 2015, showing, in general, victimization and psychological distress decreased as the youth grew older.
Wenke says one reason the change happens is because “as we age, we learn to recognize the bullies and also to find people who share our value system and can support us.”
🌈✊ YOUTH ACTIVISM SERIES - THE IT GETS BETTER PROJECT 🌈✊
THE IT GETS BETTER PROJECT IS LOOKING FOR OPENLY LGBTQ+ YOUTH ACTIVISTS TO SHARE YOUR STORY IN A WEB DOCU-SERIES.
Our goal is to give viewers around the world a hopeful, affirming glimpse into the lives of activists who identify as LGBTQ+ around the world (including outside of USA) and a respect for the intersectionality of many forms of activism. We’re looking for young people between the ages of 14-24 who are comfortably “out” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer and who are involved in intersectional causes that aren’t necessarily directly about LGBTQ+ equality.
Maybe you’re part of a group of young queer activists working to end gun violence or fight for change in immigration policy. Maybe you’re creating a space for other LGBTQ+ youth to join you in advocating for global climate change or local workers rights. Maybe you’re creating art as activism related to racial inequality or reproductive justice. Maybe you are just a young person who is passionate about a particular cause and want to see a change in the world. We’re looking for young people between 14-24 who are changing the world…or even your own community. No cause is too small!
Does being openly LGBTQ+ impact your view of the world? Why are you so passionate about the cause you’re fighting for? The time commitment is limited- filming would take place over 1-2 days in your area based on your availability.
What’s your story? Please email us ASAP and let us know! casting@creatorup.com
PLEASE REFERENCE “ACTIVISM” IN THE EMAIL AND TELL US ABOUT YOU!
On October 9th MTV and Logo will premiere the second installment of the It Gets Better special! Tune in at 11PM ET/PT to see the stories of three brave new individuals that are making a difference.
It’s been a year, which means it’s now legal to make terrible puns about all this! They can’t arrest us all.
Jokes aside, though, this is the cover of my new comic book, a collection of some of my favourite comics I made in the past year.