It Gets Better 1 Favorite 

After a spate of bullying-related suicides of LGBT youth, gay columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller decided to launch the It Gets Better project to see what they could do about it. They began with a simple YouTube video in which both of them described their experiences with bullying in high school, coming out, their families, and the story of their relationship and the adoption of their sun. They put the bullying they experienced in context by talking about all of the great things that has happened to them since, especially through their love for each other. At the end of the video Savage speaks directly to LGBT youth, telling them that they will be able to find a community and that if they are experiencing harassment or bullying because of their situation it will eventually get better.

They then asked others to submit their stories of encouragement for how it gets better, and received an overwhelming response. Over 200 videos were submitted in the first week. The project quickly expanded to have its own website, which now has over 50,000 entries from people across the globe. Many of the videos were submitted by celebrities, including Barack Obama, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Ellen Degeneres, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Silverman, and many others. Gay singer Todrick Hall even wrote a song in honor of the project, called the "It Gets Better Song."

The project was overall positive, but experienced a great tragedy when Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year-old boy who had made a video, committed suicide in September 2011. Shortly afterwards, 15 year-old Jamie Hubley also died after expressing the sentiments that he was not quite convinced that it would get better after all.

The overwhelming response to the project was very encouraging for many people in the gay community, and also showed the power of sharing personal stories. The internet was utilized very well, connecting people experiencing similar experiences that are usually very isolating. It gave many the hope that they needed to make it through, and likely saved a number of lives. A book of essays from the project was released in March 2011.