WATCH: It Already Got Better for This Colorado Student

Ted Chalfen of Boulder says most classmates didn't mind at all that he was gay.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

May 24 2013 7:58 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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While bullying of LGBT teenagers is still all too common, one graduating senior in Colorado has shared his largely positive experience of being out throughout his high school career.

In a video circulating widely on the Internet, Ted Chalfen gives a moving speech to his graduating class at Fairview High School in Boulder. He made the decision to be out beginning in his freshman year, and he feared he would "endure taunting, social ostracization, and even physical abuse," he says. Instead, he found acceptance.

"The response I have received, by and large, has been stunning," he says. "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."

The ceremony took place last Sunday. Watch the video below.