Comedian. Actress. Talk Show host. Squished into one word—Ellen. My icon from before I knew gay wasn’t just happy. I love to watch, laugh and tell stories about Ellen’s show. Her strength, knowledge and openness to everyone influences me in everyday life.
The Ellen DeGeneres show was launched in 2003. What seemed like a peppy gay woman talking to celebrities and people turned into something completely different to me. The strong, successful woman in techni-color mesmerized me. She showed me that being strong and being gay is fine. Ellen showed me that being gay isn’t something I should be ashamed about; its something I should be proud of, not something to let other people bring me down about. She keeps a smile on my face and a laugh in my heart.
“…That I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That’s to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and an antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life." I went days, weeks and months struggling with self-confidence, being gay, and not knowing who I was. Ellen's crazy show turned that around for me. Not so much the show, but her. Ellen did. She showed me you can be successful and be gay at the same time. It showed me, I can be me and I can be gay. I don't have to struggle—I can take hold of it and turn it towards making my life better.
Her one-hour every day slowly built me up. Ellen’s quirkiness, ridiculous dances and jokes made me laugh, made me smile. The next day I would hold my head higher. I want to be like her. I want to be successful and to love every minute of it. Being gay shouldn’t get me down. I want to live life constantly being there for other people, as Ellen was there for me. I want to go home at the end of the day knowing I helped a kid smile, or made a friend laugh on a bad day. Just like Ellen DeGeneres.
Citations
"Ellen DeGeneres Bio | The Ellen DeGeneres Show." The Ellen DeGeneres Show: The place for Ellen tickets, celebrity photos, videos, games, giveaways and more.. 14 Sep. 2009
"GLBT History Month." GLBT History Month 2009. 14 Sep. 2009
"GLBT History Month." GLBT History Month 2009. 14 Sep. 2009
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