One of the contributors to the video holds a photo of himself when younger (Photo: YouTube)
A group of LGBT elders read out letters they have written to their 18-year-old selves in a sweet, inspring new video.
YouTube star Davey Wavey made the short film in collaboration with the LGBT Community Center of the Desert in Palm Springs, California.
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Many of the seniors included offer words of comfort to their younger selves.
‘You will see the ugly side of people and the world. And just when you’ve lost all hope, ask for help,’ says one.
‘Find your community and flourish,’ advises another.
One man even has some exciting news for his 18-year-old self.
‘In three years from now, on a dancefloor in a gay bar, you’re going to bump into one of the hottest jocks from school, and he’s going to tell you that every time he saw you walking down the hallway he got a hard-on!’
One of the elders included in the video (Photo: YouTube)
LGBT elders often underrepresented and invisible
Talking about the video, Davey Wavey says,’While today’s world is far from perfect, there’s no doubt the LGBT community has enjoyed considerable progress over the last half century.
‘That progress, in many ways, was only made possible through the sacrifices, sweat, blood and tears of our community’s elders. And yet, our LGBT elders are underrepresented and often invisible and the very community they helped to create.
‘The reality is, our elders deserve to be seen, respected, celebrated and heard. And when we listen, they have a great deal of wisdom and advice to offer us.’
He says he hopes the film will help transfer some of that, ‘wisdom from one generation to the next.’
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