I was always one of those people that was sceptical about Twitter. I was only 10 when it was first really popular and the only people my age that had an account were the kids whose parents let them get away with anything, that had cell phones and watched M rated movies, while I was still watching cartoons and relying on my Mom to organize play dates. And then when I finally became a teenager it was still all the rage and I still didn’t get it. I was finally allowed to use the internet with minimal supervision, but I spent my time downloading movies and musicals. And any celebrity ‘tweets’ that I found interesting always found their way onto Tumblr anyway.

I only made an account originally to get the latest Broadway news sent straight to my phone. I didn’t even live in New York, but musicals have always been my one obsession that got me through the day, and I was, and still am actually, unbelievably eager to find out all the latest casting news and anecdotes from back stage of my favourite shows.

So I would use Twitter occasionally, every now and then looking through the app on my phone to see if any of my Broadway idols had tweeted. It was through this that I came to be aware of Kurt Hummel, countertenor extraordinaire, and probably my hero, if I can be as cliché as to say that. It was through Twitter that I heard word of the new show that would star the up and coming performer, a show that I just had to see. And, because my birthday was coming up, I managed to convince my parents that a ticket to the show would be the perfect gift, as long as I paid for my own train ticket there.

Long story short, I saw Kurt Hummel on Broadway and my life was changed forever.  He was so talented, his voice unlike any I’d ever heard, his smile so warm and his confidence and courage on stage was something that really took my breathe away. And I don’t even like men. I saw him from a distance after the show, at the stage door, when he came out to greet his fans, taking the time to talk to each and every one of them. I was too nervous to go anywhere near him, and merely admired awkwardly from across the street, taking note of his genuine smile and the way he laughed along with the people that were there to see him.

And then he took the hand of a man I hadn’t noticed before, slightly shorter, with a head of curls and a proud smile on his face, they walked casually to the car that was waiting for them, and they were gone.

I think it is clear that as soon as I got home from that trip I jumped on my computer and learnt all there was to learn about Kurt Hummel. I discovered that he’d grown up in Lima, Ohio, where he’d met and fallen in love with his partner, musician Blaine Anderson, who was the guy I’d seen him with after the performance. The pair had moved to New Yorkas soon as they finished high school, to chase their dreams and get away from the homophobic mindset of the people they’d grown up with. It sounds creepy when I think about it in such terms, that I was instantly searching and learning everything about this man. But he’d intrigued me, and I was 15, struggling with coming to terms with my self as a person, and with my own sexuality. And here was this man that was so sure of himself, and so incredibly talented, of course I was going to be interested.

Needless to say, it was soon Kurt Hummel’s tweets that I found myself most interested in. And that of his partnerBlaine, whose music I found to be beautiful, inspiring and the best thing to listen to when I was having a bad day. 

When I first started following them both, they were in the middle of some kind of war to embarrass each other with pictures and videos from high school.  

They made me laugh so much, no matter how bad a mood I was in. They were so full of life and love, and they’d been through so much together. And they were letting those that follow them, have a little sneak peak into their lives.

Now, I don’t want to sound like a creepy stalker person, and it’s not like I was spending all my time reading their tweets and looking at pictures and videos of the two of them, but I noticed their tweets more than others. I couldn’t help but notice how much they really loved each other, how comfortable they were in themselves and as a couple. They were gorgeous and adorable and inspiring, especially to teenagers like me that had to deal with the bullying and crap that comes with being gay.

It was tweets like this that gave me the confidence to be myself.

Tweets like that made me smile and believe that it can get better and I’ll one day find that person – the Blaine to my Kurt – if you’ll forgive me for being that cheesy. They gave me hope that I can make it; I’ll be up there on that stage one day, sharing my voice with the world, despite all the people that try to get me down.

 So when I came home from a tough rehearsal at Glee Club one night, just in time to watch the Tony Awards and witness Kurt win for Best Performance (by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical), it was Blaine’s tweet that gave me warm fuzzy feelings and Kurt’s speech about perseverance and commitment that gave me the confidence I needed to believe that I could do that too.

That night and those men changed my life for the better; I managed to feel confident enough to take a massive leap of faith in the people around me. It was because of Kurt and Blaine that I took this step, and then made my first and last ever tweet.

I guess Twitter does have its uses.