Queer youth and hanging in there

I like the idea of this, though I've seen some other things in the past from this source that make me a tad wary. But be that as it may, I think this fills a need in a useful way. Spirit Day to remember the six young men who recently killed themselves as the result of homophobic bullying.

And on the offhand chance there are any queer youth reading this: sweeties, please, please, please remember that it can and does get better. Live through this and you win, they lose. You win just by being you, by being the person you are and getting to become the person you will be. People will love you and care for you in the right ways if you can just hang on long enough to meet them and let them in. You deserve that chance and no one, not your parents or teachers or asshats at school or your minister or anyone else, even you, has the right to tell you otherwise.

I didn't come out as bi until later on in life (early 20s) so I have no school-related bullying stories of my own, at least not  ones related to homophobia. I got bullied for being poor (scholarship kid) and socially inept all through elementary school, at least until I figured out how to fight back and find allies. This took a number of less-than-fun years, mind you, but I learned a lot about people and myself along the way. I have struggled with depression and feelings of hopelessness and all that goes with them, however, so I can at least relate to feeling like you have no, or at least very limited, options. It was a long, hard road to get here, but I'm so very glad I was able to reach this point in my life.

Here's some things that I wish I'd had at various points in my life:
Kate Bornstein (well, all things Kate, really) but this in particular - Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Teen Suicide. There's a blog and a YouTube as well.
Lambda Youth Outreach - safety tips and resources
The Harvey Milk School at Hettrick Martin has a crisis line amongst other helpful things
Something for allies - Day of Silence
And for working together: GLSEN

Looping...

It has been brought to my attention, mostly by me, but also by kind and caring people in my life that I have been doing the thing that I do when things (in this case, my day job) go horribly awry and upset me a lot. As I get more stressed and more tired and unhappy, I tend to circle the wagons, which in this case means that there people I have not seen or spoken with in months and months. I'm trying to get out of this so if you've been wondering where the hell I've been, please drop me a line. It was nothing personal, honest. :-(