I knew my little sister was different ever since we were kids. She always wanted to hold hands with the other girls at school and never showed interest in boys. I probably knew she was gay before she did. The problem was that we grew up in a very conservative family and being gay was absolutely not acceptable. I honestly hoped most days that she would never come to terms with her sexuality. I didn’t want her to have a hard life just because of who she loved. I wanted to protect her. She came out her freshman year of high school. Things didn’t go well. My father was very upset and said some really hurtful things. She lost friends and started getting bullied at school. I became her rock of support during this time. I tried to tell her that things would get better and that there was hope, but the pain became too much, and 5 months later she committed suicide. She was only 15 years old.
A few years after I lost my sister, Lexa was introduced into The 100 and I began realizing just how much LGBT representation matters in the media. I had been a fan of the show since the beginning, but it wasn’t until Lexa that I got really invested. I saw my sister in Lexa. They were both lesbian, wise beyond their years, loving and most of all strong. I couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, if my sister had been able to see a character like Lexa it would have given her the hope to carry on.
When they decided to kill Lexa, it felt like I was losing my sister all over again. I haven’t cried that hard since her funeral. I felt so betrayed and hurt. I have seen first hand the suffering of LGBT youth, through my sister, and how cruel the world can be to them. It is not right and they all deserve so much better. Their stories are not destined for tragedy and death, despite what the media might portray. We live in a diverse world and it’s time the media started showing that. Lexa represented hope, and even though she is gone, I pray that hope lives on in our hearts and inspires us all to fight for a better tomorrow.