Allyship is Love

By Marshall, 16

Marshall is a 16-year-old Texas high-school student and an It Gets Better Youth Voices ambassador

When I came out as transgender at 12, I wasn’t afraid to tell my friends or immediate family about who I’d known myself to be all along. To the people who cared for me, being Latino and a Transgender Male in the deep south wasn’t seen as a shortcoming. 

But I knew it would be an issue for the people I’d be spending most of my time with: my teachers.

That hope felt like it ended before it even began. My English teacher told me she “called everyone by their last names.” My algebra teacher didn’t seem to grasp the concept of having a gender-nonconforming kid in her classroom.

When it came time to pick extracurriculars, I signed up for speech — just like I had in middle school. That outlet for personal expression kept me going when the world felt intangible. 

And when I walked into the Speech and Debate room at my high school for the first time, something felt different: a diverse classroom, a Pride flag, and a Black Lives Matter flag. At the end of that first day, I had my first conversation with my speech and debate coach. She asked me my pronouns, what name I went by, and what I wanted to do in life. 

For people in my situation, small moments like this mean the world. I grew up in a suburb that was queer‑friendly on the surface, but laws around me work to erase people like me. Being able to walk into that classroom every day and know that I am acknowledged for who I am is life-changing. 

The allyship my teacher and classmates showed me, advocacy, and safe spaces like the ones It Gets Better cultivates have allowed me to flourish. This Valentine’s Day, celebrating love means celebrating the allies who show up for us, the kids who aren’t seen, those who can be themselves because of allies around them, and choosing to show up for queer youth in return.

You can help. Donate $50 or more to It Gets Better and receive your pack of seven It Gets Better identity bracelets. Or you can show up for free by taking the It Gets Better pledge, downloading the graphic, and posting it to your social media, encouraging others to do the same.

Thank you for being an ally to young people like me.