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As an Englishman, / a certain amount of natural reserve / prevents me from being totally comfortable / with the notion of being called a hero. // I still can’t quite wrap my head around it. // When I think of heroes, / my schoolboy mind / can’t help but take over / and I think of everyone / from my personal sporting heroes, / English cricketers / like Freddie Flintoff, / to Alexander the Great,/ you know, / leading his army to victory. // Incidentally, / considering / that Alexander was bisexual, / perhaps next year / Trevor could honour him in some way, / given that no one has actually done more / for gays in the military. // However… sporting personalities aside, / those kind of all-conquering, / world-defining heroes / are harder and harder / to come by as the world gets bigger. // Charismatic individuals / who use eloquence / and passion as opposed to fear and ignorance / as the tools they use to shape events / are often unable even to be heard above the din of media mediocrity / and people-pleasing politicians. // But the truth is / that a hero is not always the person / rallying the troops for battle / or leading a march against oppression. // A hero is also someone who, / in their day-to-day interactions with the world, / despite all the pain, >/ uncertainty / and doubt / that can plague us, / is resiliently / and unashamedly / themself. // If you can wake up / every day / and be emotionally / open and honest / regardless of what you get back from the world, / then you can be the hero of your own story. //

Each and every person / who can say, despite life’s various buffeting, / that they are proud to be the person they are, / is a hero. // Now I do have to mention at this point / the real heroes of the Trevor Project, / the men and women volunteers, / all of whom stand up day after day answering the calls / of desperate teens whose circumstances / have pushed them to the edge of the abyss. // To take that call / and say, / “Yes, I will be the one who saves this life,” / takes / such courage and compassion. // Hemingway’s definition of grace under pressure / seems fitting as the job they do / is every bit / as important and every bit as delicate / as a soldier defusing a bomb. // As I said earlier, / I think honesty / is the most heroic quality one can aspire to, / and in that spirit / I would like to acknowledge / that nothing is more heroic in life / than being able to say to another human being, / “I’m scared; / I need help.” // So every person that has had the strength to call the Trevor Project / is also a hero, / and I would encourage everyone / everywhere / who is in need of help / to make that call. // Help is there to be had, / but inaction will not bring it closer to you. // Speak up for yourself. // Remember that yours / is a life worth fighting for, / and know that when you’re going through hell, / keep going. // Call the Trevor Lifeline. // If you think a friend / may need help, / be a hero for them / and give them the Trevor Lifeline number. //Anyway, / I will repeat myself once more / before I go. // Go boldly / and honestly through the world. // Learn to love the fact / that there is nobody else / quite like you, / and you will be,/ to plagiarise and paraphrase all at once,/ the heroes of your own lives.// I thank the Trevor Project/ for this amazing award.// Out of everything I have done,/ I can truly say the thing I am proudest of/ is my association with Trevor// It is an astounding organisation/ which saves lives every day,/ and I look forward to helping/ in any way that I can/ for the rest of my career.<// Thank you very much.//