Ted Chalfen gives one of the most positive graduation speeches we have ever seen.
Ted Chalfen didn’t waste words when giving his speech at the Fairview High School graduation ceremony on Sunday in Boulder, Colorado. He said:
I’m going to skip all of the clichés I want to rattle off right now, and get right to the point…I’m gay. Many, if not most, of the students here today know this, and most of them don’t really care. That is exactly the reason why I decided I had to give this speech.
Chalfen admitted he was ready to “endure taunting, social ostracization and even physical abuse” when he decided to come out before beginning high school, but he goes on to say:
The response I have received, by and large, has been stunning. The amount of people who actually seemed happy to hear that I was gay outnumbered those who didn’t care, and those who didn’t care far outnumbered the small group who reacted negatively.
He then praises his classmates and their parents for their open-mindedness in accepting him for who he is. He said:
The kindness and understanding that you all have shown me over the past four years speaks volumes about each and every one of you as human beings … This generation is never going to accomplish the things I know it to be capable of unless we stop thinking of each other in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’…Like it or not, we’re all in this together.
