'Promposal'

“You’re hella gay, I’m hella straight, but you’re like my brother, so be my date.”

Those words changed the life of not only the boys involved, but every person whom this has touched. This story is wrapped in courage, authenticity, friendship, bravery, support and genuine love.

Anthony had never had a date to a dance before, but was heavily involved and responsible for planning these dances being that he is in student counsel. Getting a date to this prom was something he immensely longed for.

Anthony’s best friend Jacob knew the depth of his desire and the importance of this dance. When he saw his best friend post about it on social media, he knew what he wanted to do.

Without hesitation or worry of what others would think, Jacob knew asking his best friend to be his date to the prom, was what he wanted to do.

The support this story has received from the local Las Vegas community, as well as national coverage, is magical and inspiring. The video went viral which then made it to Ellen DeGeneres. When she heard this amazing story, she had these two courageous boys come on her show to gift them with scholarship money and praise for their bravery! All for being authentic, loving, caring and courageous!

For Jacob, there was no thought about this going viral or making media headlines- he was purely doing what he wanted to do, what felt right and what he knew would make his best friend over the moon happy. His best friend’s happiness was his only motive.

Many people are often negatively exploited in the media, but this is an example of positive exploitation having a powerful reaction and phenomenal support. What happened following this genuine ‘promposal’ is nothing short of inspiring and powerful.

The authenticity and powerfulness from their story is what has touched the lives of countless people. These are authentic values that are necessary to live our daily lives. If we never cared about criticism, what more would we do?

How would life change if the media focused more on positive reactions? What if we, as a society, created more positive and powerful experiences to share?!

What if when we turned on the news we felt love instead of fear? Chills down the spine, smile on the face, positive and uplifting stories… It is our human right to be surrounded by such love, gratitude, courage and generosity.

Let’s keep this going! It’s start with every one of us!