Billy Lucas

“We're all worried, we're all in pain. That just comes with having eyes and having ears. But just remember one thing - it can't get any worse, it can only get better. High school is the bottom, being a teenager sucks, but that's the point, surviving it is the whole point. Quitting is not going to make you stronger, living will.”

Growing up as a “different” individual myself I am well aware of how difficult high school can be.  Moreover, I also realize that being “straight” probably spared me a touch of torment.  However, in the words of Mark Hunter, Pump Up the Volume, the point is making it through and letting yourself become stronger.  So you’re different, you’ve challenged the status quo?  What this ends up doing is forcing you to constantly think outside the box.  This can take you many places in life; places the “sheep” won’t go.

Recently a publicized event has shed light on what is a terrible (and common) problem.  Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old student in Greensburg, Indiana, killed himself after being bullied by his classmates about his purported sexuality.  To add insult to injury, homophobic hate messages were left Thursday on a memorial page set up for him.  Numerous images were uploaded to a Facebook group, giving visitors a taste of the kind of hate Lucas endured on a daily basis. The messages chided the teen about defending himself and made attacks on his presumed sexuality, Channel 6 News Joanna Massee reported.

Fortunately, Dan Savage, an American author, media pundit, journalist, and newspaper editor, has launched the “It Gets Better Project” as an online support system for LGBT youth. So if you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and you want to send an inspiring message via YouTube, head over and upload your video at It Gets Better Project and to all of your suffering through the fifth circle of Hell we call High School, realize that it does, in fact, get better.