~Not Afraid, by Lil’ Breakdancer
“The character in this artwork was once in this popular group of guys who care all about their status at school and among other teenagers. They are supposed to wear a specific clothing style just to get allowed in the group. Daniël, the character, never really cared about having to wear a specific clothing style or having to act in a specific way. Ever since he moved from another school to the school where this group belonged itself, he became friends with them. It was only later, when he found himself falling in love with one of the guys, that he realized he couldn’t be himself. For a long time he denied he was gay, and for a long time he felt depressed and felt he could never express it. His best friend, Floris, the guy he fancied, who was also in this group and kind of a criminal, did notice his friend started to act weird. And somehow he just knew he was gay and didn’t only accept it, he turned out to be gay as well. This is where a complicated situation started to grow, of course. Two guys falling in love with each other, while they had a serious reputation at school. They were seen as assholes, and yet everyone looked up to them. They were seen as players, players who were into girls. So at first they would hide their relationship for others. Until, in a very awkward situation, everyone at the school found out they were gay. And the next thing that happened wasn’t much of a surprise. Some guys of the group started to threaten them with death, while standing around them, holding a knife and not allowing them to go anywhere. What do you do in such a situation? Floris knew exactly what to do. He had been kickboxing ever since he was a little boy, and now it seemed the only option. As angry as he was he kicked the asses of his once friends. Daniël was less lucky. He was stabbed with a knife and needed to go to the hospital. But, luckily, they both survived and Floris had even proven that his ass wasn’t to be kicked, and they were not to mess with. Daniël recovered. Going back to school made him nervous, and of course he would get bullied as soon as he got back. It took almost a year for him to realize this couldn’t go on. He realized that only confidence would give him a world without bullying. And he was right, because once he used humor against the bullies, smiled every day and just became confident because he believed he could just get confident by simply believing in it, people started to respect him for being who he is. His happiness, however, didn’t last long when his boyfriend Floris turned out to be straight after all, and just used him to get the attention. But even Daniël realized he couldn’t do anything but move on and forget about everything, since life is too great not to shine. And who can shine without smiling? Life is great! Smile! Be happy, positive and open. You don’t need to get bullied, once people will admire you for your strength. And respect isn’t something that will just come, respect is something you have to create. Don’t wait for life to make you happy, when you are the one to control you own life!”
You Will Rise Project 