“When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.” – Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer can be seen on the musically inclined TV show Glee. A show about a glee club full of diverse students who struggle to find their place in high school. Quirky, and sassy, Colfer’s character is a student who struggles to come out of the closet with fears of being tormented by his peers and other individuals at school. Similar to his real life high school experience, Colfer suffered countless amounts of bullying as an openly gay student at his high school. He told Entertainment Weekly: “I spent most of my time stuffed into lockers. Thank god for cell phones, or I’d still be in there.”
As his high school experience got worse, he eventually turned to home schooling as an escape from the torment. Flash forward a couple of years, and Colfer lands himself a starring role on the widely popular television show “Glee”. He gets cast as an individual that goes through the same issues as he did in high school, except this time, Colfer gets to experience it under spotlight. As apprehensive as he was to take in a role that would cause so much controversy, it’s safe to say that society has been opening its eyes over the last couple of years. The role of Kurt brought Colfer a sense of escape as he was finally able to let go of his high school years. He turned an incredibly bad situation from his past into fuel for a very successful life as an openly gay actor.
As of now, he poses as a role model for so many individuals dealing with bullying.