Tennessee Teen Zee Taylor’s Letter to Her Younger Queer Self is Being Honored by Various National LGBTQ Groups

A powerful essay titled "A Letter From This Teen’s Heart" is being recognized nationally. In it, 16-year-old Zee Taylor from Tennessee talks to her younger self about the struggles that come with growing up as a queer kid. 

At one point in the letter, she says, “Dear younger me, to the young kid who did not know that they were not quite a boy or a girl. Dear young queer who felt much too drawn to her best friend and her smile, You are loved no matter what others may say.”

Also included in the note, “You're going to be coming out for the rest of your life; it's not a one and done thing. It's daily. So you might as well start little and then just keep going.”

Two national organizations, Hope in a Box and the Born This Way Foundation, recognized the letter as a testament to the power of LGBTQ stories in a literature contest.

Zee says she's encountered stories of both hate and love. And the ones of love are what she says the younger Zee, and others, need more of. So they know that it does get better.

And she hopes others going through the same struggles can find encouragement in her words.

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