So Sorry

I am so sorry that I am posting late, I did have this written for a few days now, I have been super busy with school. I graduate on Tuesday May 31^st. Its exciting to be done with school, but I am also going to miss it. I have formed great friendships at school with my teachers and my friends. I have made friendships with people that are totally different from me. So today let talk about what is important in your life. What things do you cherish the most? I will pick my top seven, why seven, because it’s a good random number.  So here is my top seven, and why they are important to me, I encourage you to make a list, or at least thing about it.

1)      My family, even though we do not always get along, they help me when I need them most.

2)      My friends, they are there for you when you can not stand your family any longer. I know I can always trust my true friends.

3)      My schooling, I attended a charter school for six years, and I learned the most about my self and others because of where I went to school.

4)      My dog Rusty, he will always love me till the day he leaves this earth, he is here for me when I get sick of people or the world.

5)      The LGBTQ community, they are like my extended family, I know I will always belong and will be loved, even by people I barely know. 

6)      Music, music helps me forget the world or tune it out, even if it is just for a little while.

7)      Reading, I used to hate reading, than when I was feeling the most depressed I found that reading helped me fine peace in a world of chaos. I know that there will always be a book I can lose myself in.

I love you all, Stephanie.

Stress

Hey everyone, sorry I am writing to you on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday, my week has been super busy. I have a lot going on in my life with trying to finish work at school; I also have a crazy home life right now. My parents just got divorced and there is a lot of stress that comes with it. So the topic today is how to deal with stress. How do you deal with stress? The best ways I deal with stress healthily is by hanging out with good friends, reading, listening to music and watching old TV shows. I have found that reading fiction helps me escape for reality, even if it’s just for a little while. I also have an Ipod with over 600 songs on it. I like getting lost in music; it helps me cope with what is happening around me. I also find having a trusted adult to talk to helpful; I have three in my life right now. So if you’re stressed read a book, listen to music, or talk to an adult that you trust like a youth leader or teacher. Also always remember I am here for you.

I love you so much, even if I don’t know you.

Stephanie

Family

I am blessed to come from a loving and accepting who don’t care about my sexually or the sexually of my friends. My mom and I actually attend PFLAG together. PFLAG stand for Parents, Friends of Lesbians and Gays. The group is for parents, friends and LGBT individuals to go, met other people and find support. My mom and I just started to attend the meetings for the Chapter of PFLAG that is starting up in my town. I understand not everyone has caring, accepting parents. I have a friend who parents are not accepting at all, and he is struggling with that, his self-esteem is lower than it should be and so is his aspirations in life sometimes. This is caused by his parents who do not accept him at all and are mean to him about his sexual orientation. The Family Acceptance Project did a study on family acceptance and rejection. There study found that LGBT youth from high rejecting families are more than 8 times as likely to attempt suicide. Nearly 6 times as likely to report high levels of depression. More than 3 times as likely to use illegal drugs and more than 3 times as likely to be at high risk for HIV and STDs. If you’re from a high rejecting family, remember you are not alone, there are people out there are struggling with some of the same issues, there is also people who do care about you and love you. I will always be here every Wednesday for you. There is also the Trevor Project which is a crisis and suicide prevention lifeline for LGBT youth. Please call it if you every need someone to talk to or your feeling alone. The number is 866-488-7386. Please you are never alone! You are loved.

Love Stephanie

Leadership

Leadership…..

Can anyone be a leader?

I believe anyone can be a leader if they put their mind to it. I became a youth leader for an LGBT youth group three years ago. I work every week planning meetings and events for youth in the community. I have had the opportunity to meet many amazing youth and adults trying to make safe and thriving spaces for LGBT youth. I also became a leader at school, starting an anti-slur movement and the schools GSA. Being a leader is easy to do; the first step to becoming a leader is to find an passion you would like to get more involved in. Than find an organization that matches that passion, and run with every opportunity that comes your way. Volunteering is a great way to build leadership skills. Yesterday I received a Youth Leadership award for all my hard work, it was a great feeling being recognized, but I don’t do all this youth work for the LGBT community for attention or praise, I do it because I love working with youth, and helping people in need.

Remember I am always here for you. You are never alone.

Peace and Love

Stephanie  

GSAs

This year my school started our first ever Gay-Straight Alliance, instead of just calling it the GSA we decide to give it an actual name. My co-leader came up with the name True Colors and we ran with it. The thing is we go to a super small charter school. 68 students’ grades 7-12 small. In the beginning we decided that we were going to keep ourselves and the GSA a secret. Only the school staff and the students in the group knew about the meetings True Colors. Three other students and I would leave school at 2:30 every Thursday and meet outside of school.  We did this every week for a few months, than we as a group decided we wanted to become an actual GSA, like with straight allies. That’s when we decide to move our meetings into school and open the meeting to the whole school. We now have been meeting for a few months and we have about ten members in our group which is amazing for such a small school. The main thing True Colors has done is our Breakfast Fundraiser, we made breakfast and charged three dollars per person, it went over really well and ended up making over $70. We used the money to buy Day of Silence buttons.  The 2009 National School Climate Survey found that students in schools with GSA heard fewer homophobic remarks like “faggot” or “dyke” and fewer expressions where “gay” was used in a negative way than schools without GSAs. They also found that students with a GSA to attend felt a greater sense of connectedness to their school community than students without a GSA. I have found that having True Colors has made my school a better places, and our members are happy that they have a place to learn and talk about LGBT issues. If your having a hard time starting a GSA or have one that is not being treated the same way as the other non-curricular club look up the Equal Access Act. It’s the a law that protects GSAs.

Have a Great Day! 

Love Stephanie

Why I am doing this

Hey I’m Stephanie, an 18 year old cisgender pansexual from WI. I have a lot of stories and life experiences for my young age. And I want to share them with anyone who is LGBTQ who maybe be struggling in life. So here is my reason for doing this blog.  In May of 2010 I met a boy, who changed my life. We met at the GLBT Partnership, a youth group for 14-18 year olds who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender. I have been a youth leader for the past three year, and I had never met someone so outgoing and loveable then him. His name was Cody and he was gay, but that didn’t matter to me, I saw him for much more then just a gay teenage who loved Lady Gaga. I saw him for his love of people and his drive to make the world a better place for LGBTQ people. He was my best friend for the five month I knew him. We would go shopping and have sleepovers and talk about boys and girls and Lady Gaga. In September nine boy across the U.S took there lives because of anti-gay bullying and harassment, Cody was one of those nine. He took his life on September 13^th, and I have missed him every day since. I am here to reach out so any youth who feels alone, know that they have someone out in this world that cares.

Lots of Love

Stephanie