Avery Green wants LGBTQ+ youth to hear, “Be yourself, be unapologetic. It’s going to be okay, you’ll find your people and your place. Sometimes it can be hard and people may not understand you, but you are strong. Everything that makes you different or stand out- people will value those things the most.”
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/24/celebrating-pride-avery-green/
Demetrias Wolverton wants BIPOC LGBTQ+ youth to know they shouldn’t, “… be afraid of occupying spaces as your authentic self, because queer people of color have been the pioneers of social justice and civil rights movements since the beginning of time.”
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/21/celebrating-pride-demetrias-wolverton/
Denise Miller says they would tell their younger self to, “Trust your heart, your self, your intuition, and your relationship with God.” Miller reflects that spending so much of their life fighting with their self-narrative only harmed them, no one else.
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/17/celebrating-pride-denise-miller/
Donta Andrews shares, “Women issues, race issues, LGBTQ issues are human issues. If you don’t care about them, you should be examining that.”
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/14/celebrating-pride-donta-andrews/
Maggie Adams hopes that one day there is “no such thing as ‘coming out’ … that ‘normal’ is young kids feeling valid and accepted …”
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/09/celebrating-pride-maggie-adams/
Janelle “Nelly” Smith encourages LGBTQ+ youth to: “Live for you. Most people that are scared to come out … end up eating at themselves their whole life.”
https://www.bbbsmi.org/2021/06/03/janelle-nelly-smith/