The wind blew cold on a spring day at Cameron Langrell’s parents home in Caledonia on Saturday, May 9, the day his friends and family came together to celebrate his life.
Over a hundred people gathered together to remember the 15 years they had with him. They remembered how he danced, how he loved, and the bullying he endured after he came out as transgender. Cameron’s parents found him dead in his basement last week after he had taken his own life.
As Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror played in the background, a number of Cameron’s friends comforted one another. They wore buttons with pictures of Cameron on their shirts and wore wrist bands that said: “In Loving Memory,” “Stop Bullying,” and “I am enough.” These children had had enough of losing friends.
Cierra Gilliam befriended Cameron a few years ago. Cierra described Cameron as happy, caring and helpful. But the two spoke just days before his death and she knew something had changed..
“You could tell he was depressed, but you’d ask if h was OK and he’d say, ‘Yeah,'” she said. “I was trying to help him before this happened.”
Cierra’s mom believes parents and children should be held accountable in bullying situations.
“We should teach in the schools that everyone is different and it’s OK,” she said. “What I tell my kids is that it’s OK to be different. What matters is that you be the best you and that the only requirement is that you be fabulous.”
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