Devon Berryann is standing up for what she believes in.
Or, to be more accurate, she is standing up for who she believes in: her son.
A resident of Pennsylvania, Berryann is the mother of a six-year old named Silas.
She made headlines this week for a photo of her young son, along with a powerful caption that explains why she lets Silas don nail polish and wear tutus to school.
“My six year old son likes to wear nail polish,” she wrote as an opening.
“He likes to wear girls’ clothes and tutus. He tells me about the boys he likes at school. He says he will marry them and adopt babies. Maybe he will outgrow it. Maybe not. I love and accept him for who he is.”
And that’s all it takes to comfort a six-year old, right? Devon wishes this was the case.
“I always thought that doing that would protect him from the pain of hurtful words and bullies, and I didn’t worry,” she continued.
However, Berryann went on to say that Silas recently arrived home from school and said student had teased him for wearing nail polish. It was her biggest nightmare come true.
“I considered talking him into taking it off. Into hiding that part of himself,” she wrote.
“Because for the first time ever I was scared that he would be gunned down one night when he was out having a good time with his friends.”
Following the tragic Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub this month, we can understand where that fear comes from.
Ultimately, thought, the brave mother said she remembered why she permits her son be the person he wants to be. This is how she explained it:
Because it makes him happy. Because nothing hurts more than seeing your child truly sad. Because pretending to be someone you’re not to please other people only leads to self-loathing.
To depression and to suicide.
And that too made me afraid. Why do I have to fear for him because of what he likes and who he cares about? Aren’t we past all this yet? I want this world to change. To be better for him. To DESERVE him.
Because he is a wonderful, amazing person. He wants to be president. He thinks he is a ninja. He listens when you explain things and remembers it forever.
He notices when you’re sad and tries to cheer you up. He has a light about him that just can’t be put out, no matter how hard some people have tried.
Devon’s original photo has been shared thousands of times and she has followed it up by adding the above image of her son holding a “Thank You” sign.
“Here he is world,” Devon concluded. “See my boy for the amazing person he is. Show him love. Show him acceptance. Help us change the world into one that deserves him.”
Amen.
Seriously… amen.
What else can we even add?!?