hello beautiful people welcome to
today's video recently as some of you
guys know I work for the BBC and I
make like short form content for them
and they were going around asking for
like ideas for Christmas videos and I
was like I would really love to do
something about like for people that
don't really have normal Christmas
experiences or holiday experiences or
for people that don't necessarily have
like a welcoming family to come home to
for the holidays anybody that's gonna be
alone during the holidays basically
because that just don't know people
don't really talk about that a whole lot
you don't really see a lot of media like
yeah all of the everything you see is
like families you know having great
times together and you know going home
for my you know with my family gonna get
a bunch of Christmas presents and all of
that stuff and I think it's very much
this kind of glamorized middle-class
world and it's simultaneously a class
thing but it's also an identity thing a
lot of people and just a life thing not
everybody has kind of a family to go
home to for Christmas not everybody's
gonna get a bunch of Christmas presents
and I think that Christmas can be super
fun I think it's a cheerful season you
know people also celebrate Hanukkah as
well a little bit earlier in the month
and then there's Kwanzaa as well and so
I think that they and then there's just
the idea of the winter holidays just
been a very kind of like modernized
concept to try to get everybody involved
whether or not they're religious or not
but I think that the holidays is it's a
nice idea and it's taking a period of
time that a lot of people would normally
probably not like very much because it's
so cold and stuff and turn it into
something cozy and kind of family
oriented which is really nice um but I
kind of want to just make this video for
people that might not necessarily have
anyone to spend Christmas with I have a
friend here in Cardiff who's not going
home for Christmas I didn't go home for
Christmas for two years while I was
studying and so I know what it's like to
be alone for Christmas and in I think
one of those years at least maybe even
both I'm trying to remember I don't know
if I've ever been alone for Christmas
I've always had people take me in
but I did spend two years without my
family for Christmas and it was a
difficult thing for me but on the flip
side of that going home for Christmas my
first year I did go home for Christmas
and that was challenging as well because
I have such different beliefs to the
rest of my family and so it was hard for
me to kind of go home having just come
out and kind of dealing love that so I
think the lgbtq+ people have a really
unique experience with Christmas and I
think that Christmas can be a really
negative thing for a lot of queer people
who maybe have been kicked out of their
families for their identity
you know the rates of homelessness are
shocking amongst lgbtq+ people I forget
the statistic I hadn't written down
somewhere but it's something like 22
percent of homeless people in the UK
identify as LGBTQ plus and seventy-seven
percent of them attribute their
coming-out to being kicked out just
crazy and I think the people just don't
realize how big of an issue it still is
and it's like imagine being kicked out
of your family for your identity you
don't have anywhere to go to for
Christmas you see all these ads of these
people having these great wonderful
lovely Christmas celebrations and you're
they're all in your own possibly on the
streets and I want to take this one with
this is a noun sponsor but I want to
take this moment to shout out the Alber
can you trust because they do a lot of
work around I would you bt+ homelessness
I'm trying to get our do BT plus people
off the streets which is fantastic and I
just think that what they do is
phenomenal and I couldn't praise it
enough so I will put the links to their
stuff down below because if you have the
chance to support them you could
potentially be supporting somebody that
maybe doesn't have a home Christmas but
also I I think that one of the main
things you can do as well is that if you
know somebody in your life that you know
isn't is gonna be on their own for
Christmas or if you know somehow GB G+
person that doesn't have a home or
anybody you know it's so easy to invite
them into your family to celebrate
Christmas with you or whatever you're
doing I've had tons of offers for people
to to spend time with Christmas when I
couldn't go home and that meant so much
to me like I know how much it meant to
me to have a family be like we even
someone who maybe doesn't know me super
well to be like
spend Christmas with us and they like
with a family I stayed with they got me
presents so like and obviously like you
know what you'd be obligated to do that
but I just know him how much of an
impact that had for me and how lucky I
was to have that invitation and I was so
Christmas during my two years of not
being able to go home was so like even
with Diamond tation were really really
challenging times for me because I had a
difficult relationship with my family
for some of those years and then on but
I also missed the heck out of them I
felt so lonely like more lonely than I
probably felt most of my life during
that Christmas period and so I know that
there's like other people out there that
can relate to that feeling and so I just
think that if you get the opportunity I
really encourage you to invite somebody
that you know is gonna be alone to spend
Christmas with them my friend you
spending Christmas alone here in Wales I
can't invite spend Christmas with me
because I'm actually going to home for
Christmas I'm going to home for
Christmas this year I went home for
Christmas last year too and I'm honestly
so excited and people keep asking me
like what about your mental health like
how is it gonna be with your family cuz
you know they obviously have very
different beliefs to me um but honestly
I just cannot wait and I'm so excited I
haven't been home and so long and I'm
just like really ready to spend time
with my family
and we're gonna go to a cabin and I'm
gonna get I'm gonna see some family
members that I haven't seen since I came
out and yes I am a little bit
apprehensive about that but I'm also
just excited and I keep having like
nightmare dreams about my family not
being great about my sexuality but also
like we we did a Christmas letter this
year for the first year and a like I
can't remember the last time we did one
if ever my family doesn't really do
Christmas letters but my sister asked me
to send in like some updates on this
year and I was like well all of my
accomplishments this year have to do
with my identity so I was like I'm not
going to exclude my identity from this I
was named one of the most influenced or
influential LGBTQ plus people in Wales
that has I went to BT plus in it you
know I reached 2,000 subscribers on a
channel that's all about I would be T
plus stuff you know I
mention in there that I went to Morocco
a place where my identities legal and
made a video on that which is one of my
most popular uploads this year although
it's being disliked bombed by homophobe
so if you want to go give it a thumbs up
go do that but I was like I'm gonna
mention all this shit I'm not gonna say
like oh yeah you know I'm working for
the BBC now which I am I did put that on
there but like making gay stuff you know
because a lot of my accomplishments are
connected with my identity and I'm not
ashamed by that and so I put all this
stuff on there and so I'm curious what
my family thought because I know so many
of them are not affirming what the
majority of them are not affirming and
so I'm definitely curious to know what
they thought of the letter I know one
relative was like commented just on my
sister's part of the letter and
completely did not say anything about me
being in it and I was a bit like okay
but anyway this is not for me to
complain about my family I have a really
big family and oh gosh that there can be
some drama sometimes but I love them to
pieces and they're so precious to me and
I'm so grateful to have family at all as
an LGBT first person that is a gift to
me and I know what it's like to be
estranged from your family I know what
it's like to have family that have
different beliefs from you probably 90%
of my entire family extended family are
very very very conservative socially
there are very religious and
conservative Trump voting people and I
love them to pieces
so anyway I'm rambling this is what
happens but I don't write a script I
never write a script but still um the
point of all this is I know what it's
like to be alone during Christmas and I
know what it's like to have a difficult
family and and the loneliness you can
feel during Christmas so I wanted to
make this video to kind of address that
to encourage you to reach out to
somebody that you know who might be
alone during Christmas and to just try
to just you know the whole pay it
forward go the extra mile make someone
feeling
because Christmas can be a really
special time and I think that we can
work to combat that loneliness that's so
many feel during this season merry queer
must have a gay and Merry Christmas
happy crisis anyway I just wanted to
kind of like celebrate Christmas with
you guys I'd love to know like you know
what are you guys doing I hope that you
guys all have a great winter holiday
season yeah
I hope that you enjoyed this video if
you did please give it a thumbs up and
yeah if you haven't already subscribe to
this channel that would mean a lot to me
as always remember that the world is a
noisy place and make your words count
reach out to someone tell them you love
them invite them to your celebrations
with you and I will see you in my next
video
you
