Collin Moreno-Crestejo (12) enters with full confidence and ready to start the day. Even though he has been receiving backlash from people for being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, he doesn’t let that stop his overflowing positivity and confidence as a person. From people leaving hateful comments on things he posts to just rude comments being told to him in person, the hate has been growing more and more recently.

“My worst experience is definitely people that I don’t know finding my Instagram account or my social media, and they would request to follow me even when I don’t know them and they would leave hateful comments when I do let them follow me,” Crestejo said.

People leaving all these hateful comments have been growing and growing to the point where wherever Crestejo went, he would receive hurtful remarks. He still faces the hardships of interactions from individuals who refuse to respect his values and outlooks. 

“I think there are a lot of people that don’t understand a lot of things in the world,” Crestejo said. “I consider myself to be someone that understands a lot of things, a lot of adult things, whereas a lot of people my age don’t, they don’t take things seriously, and they don’t treat people with equal respect.”

Most people grew up not being exposed to things that are happening around them, especially with topics like the LGBTQ+ community. Crestejo believes that no matter what environment people grew up with, they should still be understanding and they should be able to think for themselves.

“I think people who hate on the LGBTQ community don’t understand it, and I think the people who hate on it are uneducated because at the end of the day, LGBTQ people and kids are the same as anyone else. Religion, ethnicity, race, none of it should play a role in how people in the community are perceived,” Crestejo said. “People can think what they think, and that is perfectly okay, but it’s never okay to hate on someone and it’s never okay to voice someone’s opinion to the point where someone else gets hurt or worse.”

Despite all of this backlash and hate, Crestejo continues to show his personality and express his thoughts no matter what others think. His best friends, Shreeyaa Phate (12) and Vincent Pipo (12), has been with him through all of it and has been seeing how he has been doing with all of the things happening to him.

“I think one great thing that he’s doing is speaking up about it and taking action. I think that kind of brings positivity to him,” Phate said.

Pipo says that his personality has definitely changed throughout this entire situation, but tries his best to stay positive even through everything.

“His mood has definitely shifted and he’s had lots of ups and downs, [but] he’s always steadfast about trying to work out the situation,” Pipo said.

Despite all of the hate he’s faced, Crestejo’s friends continue to support him throughout each battle. He hopes that no one has to face the same backlash he has and is instead accepted for who they are.

“Treat everyone with respect because I would never want anyone to feel hate against each other,” Crestejo said. “No one should hate on another person simply because of who they decide to love and what they decide to do with their life.”