Jamie Hubley was a young teen who loved music, singing and being with friends, but there was one thing that made him different he was gay.
"He would make jokes about people making fun of him, but I knew that it hurt him. I think it was his way of dealing with it," says Jamie's close friend Stephanie Wheeler.
But Jamie couldn't deal with the homophobic bullying he was the target of, and, on Oct 14, he took his own life after leaving a suicide note online.
The message is sad: "being sad. I've been like this for way to long. I can't stand school, I can't stand earth, I can't stand society, I can't stand the scars on my arms, I can't fucking stand any fucking thing."
Just one year earlier, Jamie was exploring his sexuality and coming to terms with the fact he was gay. It was at this time that he came out to Wheeler.
"I think it was a big step for him, but I think he was comfortable enough with me to know that I wouldn't say anything. He was not ready to tell everybody, be he was willing to tell certain people," Wheeler says.
When he was ready, Jamie came out to all his friends on Facebook. Wheeler says that after that he became "completely flamboyant" and would regularly update his status to read, "find me a boyfriend."
Hubley didn't find a boyfriend. Instead, he fell prey to bullied who made his life miserable.
"I think that right after he came out people started to tease him about it. He had been bullied before because people always had a suspicion, but as soon as he came out i was almost like a free ride to make fun of him," says Wheeler.
She says she tried stand up for him, but whenever she did, she was also bullied and called lesbian. She dismisses the effect this had on her, saying that everyone is entitled to an opinion.
The thing with Jamie is that he would usually turn the other cheek, and I think it helped a lot. The bullying went down he didn't react to it," she says. "I guess it was on his Tumblr blog where all of his anger came out. He used that as a way to try and deal with it instead of confronting people about it."
In one of Jamie post he wrote, "I don't know if i'm annoying, embarrassing or they just don't like me. I hate being the only open gay guy in my school.... it fucking sucks. I really want to end it. Like all of it, I'm not getting better, there's three more years of high school left."
Wheeler finds it hard to describe what Hubley was like.
"It's hard to describe him in one sentence. I couldn't even describe him in a novel. He was so colorful," she says. "My favorite thing about him was how he would put his problems aside for others-- put everybody else first and then worry about himself later."
"He would make jokes about people making fun of him, but I knew that it hurt him. I think it was his way of dealing with it," says Jamie's close friend Stephanie Wheeler.
But Jamie couldn't deal with the homophobic bullying he was the target of, and, on Oct 14, he took his own life after leaving a suicide note online.
The message is sad: "being sad. I've been like this for way to long. I can't stand school, I can't stand earth, I can't stand society, I can't stand the scars on my arms, I can't fucking stand any fucking thing."
Just one year earlier, Jamie was exploring his sexuality and coming to terms with the fact he was gay. It was at this time that he came out to Wheeler.
"I think it was a big step for him, but I think he was comfortable enough with me to know that I wouldn't say anything. He was not ready to tell everybody, be he was willing to tell certain people," Wheeler says.
When he was ready, Jamie came out to all his friends on Facebook. Wheeler says that after that he became "completely flamboyant" and would regularly update his status to read, "find me a boyfriend."
Hubley didn't find a boyfriend. Instead, he fell prey to bullied who made his life miserable.
"I think that right after he came out people started to tease him about it. He had been bullied before because people always had a suspicion, but as soon as he came out i was almost like a free ride to make fun of him," says Wheeler.
She says she tried stand up for him, but whenever she did, she was also bullied and called lesbian. She dismisses the effect this had on her, saying that everyone is entitled to an opinion.
The thing with Jamie is that he would usually turn the other cheek, and I think it helped a lot. The bullying went down he didn't react to it," she says. "I guess it was on his Tumblr blog where all of his anger came out. He used that as a way to try and deal with it instead of confronting people about it."
In one of Jamie post he wrote, "I don't know if i'm annoying, embarrassing or they just don't like me. I hate being the only open gay guy in my school.... it fucking sucks. I really want to end it. Like all of it, I'm not getting better, there's three more years of high school left."
Wheeler finds it hard to describe what Hubley was like.
"It's hard to describe him in one sentence. I couldn't even describe him in a novel. He was so colorful," she says. "My favorite thing about him was how he would put his problems aside for others-- put everybody else first and then worry about himself later."
