You are perfect.

The recent suicides of several (goddamn, SEVERAL) LGBT teens is terrifying. It is terrifying because each one was set in motion by bullies. People who convinced these children that life wasn't good enough, that THEY weren't good enough.

I am devastated for so many reasons. How have we raised people that are so inhuman that they think torturing others is funny? Why do we allow people to believe that words are not weapons? Does anyone realize what an utter failure we are as a race that we haven't given our friends and family enough comfort to know that there is another way out?

Call me a hypocrite. I complain. I'm mean. A lot. I write jokes. I know what I am writing. I know the power it has. Do not ever believe that I do not weigh the impact of my words and actions continually. I do.

I have lost far too many people to suicide. A ridiculous amount. I believe firmly that for an adult to take their own life is the most selfish thing anyone can do, they have failed us. When a child ends their own life, we have failed them.

It does little good to write some trifle of a blog entry. But it is all I have.

Please, to anyone reading this who is hurting, I have been there and I know the despair. I have been bullied to the brink. All through grade school, cruel and mindless children tortured me to the very edge. I was bullied mercilessly and continually. I pulled through. I became an amazing person, because of, or in spite of it. After many years of ridicule and desperation, I found peace in my self. I have learned much and I do not pretend to know it all, but I know a few things.

1. Who you are right now is PERFECT.
You are exactly as you are meant to be. Who you are is MORE than enough.
Anyone who tells you differently is a liar.

2. These are NOT the 'best days of your life'.
Especially if you are still in elementary school, high school or college: this is not it. It gets better.
Anyone who tells you differently is a liar.

3. LIFE is AMAZING.
For all it's hurt and trials and stains and cracks, this world is full of more joy and wonder than you can ever know. It is full of rain and grass, husbands and peonies and pugs, ice cream and velvet and pedicures and bacon and whispers and fresca. Any one of those things is worth getting out of bed for.
Anyone who tells you differently is a murderer.

If you don't believe me, call someone. Call a friend, a family member, a doctor, a stranger. Call someone you trust and ask them why they got up this morning. You may be shocked, but the answer is probably you.