Testimonials from Whitewater, WI
This message was sent anonymously to one of the Cast Members:
“You don’t know me… but I saw you perform in Whitewater the other night and I wanted to thank you all for coming. I also wanted to let you know that the message you’re presenting reaches so many other issues than just the obvious few. I’m a freshman in college, and you may not understand how shocking it is for me to say that. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t know what it feels like to be bullied for being gay, and I never will. I do know, however, that IT GETS BETTER pertains to so much. I was “that kid” all throughout middle school and high school… that one who got bullied for the sake of bullying someone. I used to get beaten up and abused for no reason and the teachers just looked away. I once got punched in the face after school and lost 3 teeth. I felt like there was no way out because I hadn’t done anything to deserve being bullied. I faced verbal abuse every day I walked into school, I used to hide in the bathrooms and come late to class. My freshman year of high school I got cast as the lead in our musical and that made every upperclassman upset. They wouldn’t talk to me and lied to the directors to get me kicked out. I couldn’t take it… I became a hateful person. Being an actor may help with this, but my parents never knew anything was wrong… and they still don’t know anything happened. I fell into this deep, dark pit of nothingness. I didn’t know what happiness was and I didn’t like what life was. I started cutting because I thought watching my blood flow down the drain would make my problems go away… and it seemed to work. I was careful to make sure they could never be seen and wouldn’t leave scars. By the time I was a senior in high school I had attempted suicide 11 times. Again I’ll say it- I SHOULDN’T BE HERE! Nobody knew and nobody knows. It was a part of my life I hid from everyone because I didn’t want to be judged. I could never bring myself to follow through with suicide because of a little voice in my head that promised I’d get through it if I held on and kept looking at the future. So here I am… freshman year of college… and my life really didn’t change, I’m still depressed and may never stop. I still get picked on for unexplained reasons. Yesterday I was woken up to a brighter day. I realized for the first time that it does get better. For the first time in a long time I found a purpose for this life I’m living.
So, you’re reaching people. It’s amazing and I hope you keep it going.
Dig Deep. Reach Wide.”
“GMCLA came to my school, TAGOS, in Janesville, WI. I want to say thank you! It really opened my eyes that everyone can get through whatever situation they are in. I realized that you can get through it and that you will come out on the other side. I never smiled as much as I did today listening to the guys talk and sing. It really made my day 100% better. I guess what really blew my mind was seeing adults who are stronger than ever and made it through the tough situation they were in. THANK YOU!”
“Thanks again to you and the guys for this morning’s presentation in our Music New Student Seminar class! The songs were amazing and the stories were wonderful. Looks like you picked up a few more singers as well!”
“These kids had soooo much fun. We can’t thank you enough for doing this with them. It’s so cool to see these kids grow in the years that we’ve had them in various capacities. We see them becoming more and more confident all around.
It is good to see them getting so involved like this as well, as with all our students there are disabilities and other issues that have held them all back for too long in their short lives. Everything from learning disabilities, anxiety issues, depression, and low self esteem. And today they all blossomed some more!
And yes it does get better.”
“It was fantastic! I can’t wait to see the finished video! The students got to perform and think creatively and they had lots of time to connect with the cast, who were phenomenal with the students. And Studio 84 was the perfect place to hold it–it is an environment that sparks creativity. My only regret was that the Studio 84 youth and the UWW students didn’t get to interact more–perhaps we’ll have to collaborate again.”