Usually when I post something to Slog about a high school’s treatment of its LGBT students it’s a negative story. Like this one:
The graduation ceremony at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday was one student short, as a transgender teen refused to participate in the commencement exercises because the school told him he would have to wear a female student gown. Damian Garcia, a graduating senior at St. Pius X who identifies as male and had a legal name change last year, was told by the school officials that he must wear the white gown reserved for females, or not participate in the ceremony. And so, Garcia elected to stay home.
So this story represents a nice change of pace:
When 18-year-old Chelsea posted a photo of her classmates Brad Taylor And Dylan Meehan to her Tumblr blog this week, she did not anticipate the incredible response it would receive — within 24 hours, the entry had been shared almost 100,000 times. The image was taken from her high school yearbook, and she included this caption:
“Two of my best friends won Cutest Couple of our senior class. First time in my school history a same sex couple has even been able to run for this category, not to mention winning it. So proud of them, and my school.”
Dylan and Brad gave this statement to the Huffington Post:
This whole thing has been a bit surreal for us because we have been raised to believe that love is love. We never realized that our happiness and openness would inspire so many individuals. The support we have received from our family, friends, and even strangers has led us to believe that our affection for each other is normal … When we started dating a year [ago], the thought of a photo of us traveling throughout the world would be a bit frightening, but now we are proud to be part of the LGBT community.