A teen who came out gay as a freshman
told his graduating class that he was prepared to accept rejection
but instead found support.
“Coming out before entering high
school was not a decision that I took lightly,” Ted Chalfen, a
student at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado said in his
commencement speech. “I heard the horror stories about how this
could be the worst 4 years of a young gay man's life. I was fully
prepared to endure taunting, social ostracization and even physical
abuse.”
“The response that I have received,
by and large, has been stunning.”
“The kindness and understanding that
you all have showed me over the past 4 years speaks volumes about
each of you as human beings.”
Chalfen added that the parents share a
lot of the credit.
“You brought your kids up the right
way and they are forever indebted to you for it,” he added. (The
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