Project 527 for Chris's 22th Birthday

Chris,
Forgive me for using your birthday video as a confessional. A Facebook friend told me about this project and I wanted to let you know how much your work has meant to me and my family.
As a father, I try to stay aware of what my children are being exposed to. When my kids first started watching Glee, I was dubious to say the least. I was convinced that I would hate the show and even more convinced that I’d hate “the gay kid”.
Because, I will be honest, I was one of those guys. The ignorant, secretly bigoted kind who told myself that I was open-minded, but believed without reservation or consideration that gays were nothing but sexual predators looking to corrupt straight people. I would like to apologize for that.
A few episodes into Glee, my viewpoint began to change. I found myself rooting for the very character I had been so prepared to condemn. The father/son relationship I saw made me consider how I would feel if that was my kid. I kept watching, slowly becoming fascinated (much to my embarrassment at the time) by the progress of Kurt’s romantic journey. I was shocked by how much the innocent hope of his unrequited crush in the first season contrasted with the violent actions of that predatory closet jock in the second. And I was both amused and touched by the slow build-up of strong, honest love between Kurt and his Dalton boy. Those relationships proved to me that Kurt was just a boy, like any other, trying to get through the obstacles of his world and find real happiness. This was no predator. No stereotype of random promiscuity. He wasn’t a sad little doormat for the ignorant straights of the world to push around. Kurt was just a normal, if extraordinary, teenager.
I had to ask myself, who was I to put down a gay version of the kid I had been in high school? A boy who was pushed around for being a short, scrawny math-geek, who suffered God knows how many pointless crushes before meeting the love of my life, a woman I married right out of college and later fathered three beautiful children with?
Glee put my prejudice on shaky ground, and made me reconsider many things. You personally caused that prejudice to undergo an earthquake by being so open about who you are and so friendly and charming and shockingly “real” whenever I happened across you on a talk show or televised event.
The final nail in the coffin came this past weekend when Doug (my oldest son) and I watched the YouTube broadcast of “8” together. I felt like a fool as I watched my old arguments, not against marriage but against gays in general, get held up to the fire and burned away as the transparent tissue paper excuses that they were. Your performance in particular moved me, less for the words you spoke than for the vulnerability evident in your face and voice. For a moment, I wasn’t watching Chris Colfer or the character he played on that witness stand, I was watching my own son.
Which brings me to the important part of this letter. A day after that remarkable play aired, my son came out to me. He had been witnessing my slow transformation and, ironically, waiting for me to grow mature enough to accept the truth. I have, and my son and I both feel remarkably free.
Thank you for teaching this old dog a couple of new tricks and helping me to become worthy of the wonderful young man that I fathered sixteen years ago. I wouldn’t have done it without you.
Best Wishes and a very Happy Birthday to you.
Dennis

arina wrote:

Chris,
Forgive me for using your birthday video as a confessional. A Facebook friend told me about this project and I wanted to let you know how much your work has meant to me and my family.
As a father, I try to stay aware of what my children are being exposed to. When my kids first started watching Glee, I was dubious to say the least. I was convinced that I would hate the show and even more convinced that I’d hate “the gay kid”.
Because, I will be honest, I was one of those guys. The ignorant, secretly bigoted kind who told myself that I was open-minded, but believed without reservation or consideration that gays were nothing but sexual predators looking to corrupt straight people. I would like to apologize for that.
A few episodes into Glee, my viewpoint began to change. I found myself rooting for the very character I had been so prepared to condemn. The father/son relationship I saw made me consider how I would feel if that was my kid. I kept watching, slowly becoming fascinated (much to my embarrassment at the time) by the progress of Kurt’s romantic journey. I was shocked by how much the innocent hope of his unrequited crush in the first season contrasted with the violent actions of that predatory closet jock in the second. And I was both amused and touched by the slow build-up of strong, honest love between Kurt and his Dalton boy. Those relationships proved to me that Kurt was just a boy, like any other, trying to get through the obstacles of his world and find real happiness. This was no predator. No stereotype of random promiscuity. He wasn’t a sad little doormat for the ignorant straights of the world to push around. Kurt was just a normal, if extraordinary, teenager.
I had to ask myself, who was I to put down a gay version of the kid I had been in high school? A boy who was pushed around for being a short, scrawny math-geek, who suffered God knows how many pointless crushes before meeting the love of my life, a woman I married right out of college and later fathered three beautiful children with?
Glee put my prejudice on shaky ground, and made me reconsider many things. You personally caused that prejudice to undergo an earthquake by being so open about who you are and so friendly and charming and shockingly “real” whenever I happened across you on a talk show or televised event.
The final nail in the coffin came this past weekend when Doug (my oldest son) and I watched the YouTube broadcast of “8” together. I felt like a fool as I watched my old arguments, not against marriage but against gays in general, get held up to the fire and burned away as the transparent tissue paper excuses that they were. Your performance in particular moved me, less for the words you spoke than for the vulnerability evident in your face and voice. For a moment, I wasn’t watching Chris Colfer or the character he played on that witness stand, I was watching my own son.
Which brings me to the important part of this letter. A day after that remarkable play aired, my son came out to me. He had been witnessing my slow transformation and, ironically, waiting for me to grow mature enough to accept the truth. I have, and my son and I both feel remarkably free.
Thank you for teaching this old dog a couple of new tricks and helping me to become worthy of the wonderful young man that I fathered sixteen years ago. I wouldn’t have done it without you.
Best Wishes and a very Happy Birthday to you.
Dennis

Sourcehttp://project527.tumblr.com/post/18978537951/non-tumblr-friend-submission-3

arina wrote: Father's wonderful testimony was here

arina wrote:

Chris,
Forgive me for using your birthday video as a confessional. A Facebook friend told me about this project and I wanted to let you know how much your work has meant to me and my family.
As a father, I try to stay aware of what my children are being exposed to. When my kids first started watching Glee, I was dubious to say the least. I was convinced that I would hate the show and even more convinced that I’d hate “the gay kid”.
Because, I will be honest, I was one of those guys. The ignorant, secretly bigoted kind who told myself that I was open-minded, but believed without reservation or consideration that gays were nothing but sexual predators looking to corrupt straight people. I would like to apologize for that.
A few episodes into Glee, my viewpoint began to change. I found myself rooting for the very character I had been so prepared to condemn. The father/son relationship I saw made me consider how I would feel if that was my kid. I kept watching, slowly becoming fascinated (much to my embarrassment at the time) by the progress of Kurt’s romantic journey. I was shocked by how much the innocent hope of his unrequited crush in the first season contrasted with the violent actions of that predatory closet jock in the second. And I was both amused and touched by the slow build-up of strong, honest love between Kurt and his Dalton boy. Those relationships proved to me that Kurt was just a boy, like any other, trying to get through the obstacles of his world and find real happiness. This was no predator. No stereotype of random promiscuity. He wasn’t a sad little doormat for the ignorant straights of the world to push around. Kurt was just a normal, if extraordinary, teenager.
I had to ask myself, who was I to put down a gay version of the kid I had been in high school? A boy who was pushed around for being a short, scrawny math-geek, who suffered God knows how many pointless crushes before meeting the love of my life, a woman I married right out of college and later fathered three beautiful children with?
Glee put my prejudice on shaky ground, and made me reconsider many things. You personally caused that prejudice to undergo an earthquake by being so open about who you are and so friendly and charming and shockingly “real” whenever I happened across you on a talk show or televised event.
The final nail in the coffin came this past weekend when Doug (my oldest son) and I watched the YouTube broadcast of “8” together. I felt like a fool as I watched my old arguments, not against marriage but against gays in general, get held up to the fire and burned away as the transparent tissue paper excuses that they were. Your performance in particular moved me, less for the words you spoke than for the vulnerability evident in your face and voice. For a moment, I wasn’t watching Chris Colfer or the character he played on that witness stand, I was watching my own son.
Which brings me to the important part of this letter. A day after that remarkable play aired, my son came out to me. He had been witnessing my slow transformation and, ironically, waiting for me to grow mature enough to accept the truth. I have, and my son and I both feel remarkably free.
Thank you for teaching this old dog a couple of new tricks and helping me to become worthy of the wonderful young man that I fathered sixteen years ago. I wouldn’t have done it without you.
Best Wishes and a very Happy Birthday to you.
Dennis

Sourcehttp://project527.tumblr.com/post/18978537951/non-tumblr-friend-submission-3

fantastica wrote:I believe network execs only respond to numeral numbers.

ColferInspired wrote:

ColferInspired wrote:This is another little gem from tumblr that I found for project 527, because the part about hearing him sing is true because I have seen it for myself and I wish I had a video camera so I could have put it up on Youtube to shut the ones up about hating Chris's voice and that he ruins songs.

Chris is an amazing person because he doesn’t hate a certain kind of person or religion.
He loves everyone. He was bullied and he understand what it’s like.
He’s a role model for people like me who were bullied as well.
Even though i got mostly over being bullied when I graduated, I never fully got over it until I heard Chris speaking about it.

-Alyssa

My brother wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Chris Colfer.
He told me a few months ago that he thought about committing suicide— (His classmates are AWFUL and bully him for being gay.
And it’s such a small town that most of the teachers think he deserves it since he ‘chose to be that way’) —but then he heard Chris’ story about being bullied all through high school.
Seeing Chris achieve his dreams and finding friends and a place in this world made my brother realize that he could do that, too.

So really, Chris Colfer saved my family.
There are not enough languages to thank him in.

He gave me the strength to come out.

Through his portrayal of Kurt I have become comfortable with my sexuality.
Chris Colfer has made it easier for me to accept who I am and I really look up to him.
He’s my hero. Happy Birthday Chris!

Hey Chris

I know there is a chance that you will never read this but I really hope you do.
Crap. That means I have to write this really well. Like be grammatically correct. I hate grammar.
Oh well. Your worth it. I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me.
How much you playing Kurt means to me. I know you don’t think that you are a hero, but you are my hero.
I see how strong and confident you have become. I see how strong and confident Kurt has become.
It gives me strength. It gives me strength everyday.
Whenever I am having a really rough day and I think I can’t go on anymore I just think to myself “Chris made it through. So can you.
Kurt made it through. So can you”.
I have always been a tomboy my entire life and I always felt like the messages that I got from those around me was that that was not okay.
I needed to be different. More feminine.More whatever.Seeing Kurt get those messages and yet refuse to change who he is, gives me strength.
It reminds me that I don’t have to be anyone than what I am.Whenever I am feeling down I just listen to you and Darren sing perfect.
I know it sounds weird,but it feels like you are singing it to me. Telling me it’s okay to be me. It’s okay to be scared. To be unsure.
Kurt and Blaine’s relationship also gives me hope. I Hope that someday I will find someone who will love me for everything that I am.
I just wanted you to know that Kurt is so much more than a TV Character. You are more than just some celebrity. You both give me hope and strength.
Thank you for giving me that.I wrote this poem for you. I really hope you like it. All my love.

Eve

Fear

Fear that’s real

Fear that’s in me

Fear that I will never reach where I want to be

It’s so close right their, I can touch it

I go to clutch it

But my hand closes on thin air nothing is there

and suddenly

everything I had rised above begins to appear

Fear

That I am never enough

constantly vying with myself

constantly trying to be tough

Never let down that wall

never let those tears fall

muffle the screams and yells coming from inside you

the person no one knew

never let anyone hear

Fear

That the darkness will catch up with me

keep running

don’t stop

Never stop

and than I can run no more

the darkness washes over me

for a few moments it is all I can see

I look up into the sky

I do not fear

I do not run

I let myself be hit by rays of the sun

and I realize I am me

I have reached where i wanted to be

I am enough

I am free

Chris Colfer has inspired me in so many ways to do so many things.
He changed my life! Chris, you are my idol and I admire everything you do as an actor, a writer, a musician and just as a general person.
He truly showed me that even small town kids and nerds with big dreams can make it out of hell one day.
Thank you Chris! I love you!