A teenager in New York City made the most of his graduation ceremony by choosing that moment to come out as bisexual.
Mason Bleu shared a video Saturday of his valedictorian speech. He was clearly nervous as he stumbled over his prepared words, before finally gearing up for his big reveal.
“I’ve struggled to be proud of something all my life,” he said. “Since I’m preaching about being proud today, it would be hypocritical of me to continue hiding.”
You could hear the audience start to get worked up as people realized what it is that Bleu was about to tell them, and he had to raise his voice to keep going.
“For a long time, I have struggled with my sexuality. I’ve dodged it and ignored it because I wasn’t proud of who I am. But today I’m changing that. I’m proud to be a bisexual man.”
The room erupted in cheers for the graduating senior, with a standing ovation coming from his classmates and eventually the faculty on stage as well.
“I’ve struggled with being proud of myself for a long time because I was afraid that no one else would be proud of me, and for me,” he continued. “But an important thing about being proud is that you should always be proud of yourself before you want anyone to be proud of you.”
\u201cSo I came out during my valedictorian speech. It was definitely the scariest thing I\u2019ve ever done but the reaction was amazing. Thank you to everyone who supported me! #Pride2019 #LGBTQ\u201d— mason \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@mason \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4) 1561820720
After sharing the video on Twitter, Bleu also took a moment to say that one of the reasons he was afraid of coming out earlier was that he wants to be an actor and he was afraid being an out bisexual man would hurt his career prospects.
\u201cOne reason I didn\u2019t come out earlier was because I was afraid it would damage my acting career. I finished filming my first movie 2 weeks ago and being on set was the most amazing feeling ever. Then I realized, I didn\u2019t wanna grow without uplifting others as well.\u201d— mason \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@mason \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4) 1561866637
But ultimately, he realized he had the opportunity to be authentic and maybe even inspire others along the way, as out and proud LGBTQ heroes had inspired him.
Congratulations, Mason!
