Glee has been so special to me, and I’m so thankful to be a part of this fandom. Like Rachel once said, “being a part of something special makes you special, right?” I fully believe that I have been blessed to be a part of this fandom. It’s so much more than just enjoying a television show. It’s taught me so much.
Rachel Berry taught me to dream big. No matter how many times people tell you that you’ll never make it, use that to light a fire and try that much harder. You can accomplish whatever you set your heart on.
Finn Hudson taught me that you don’t always have to know where you’re going. You can plan but things are never going to go the way you plan. Take life one day at a time. Embrace what you are given. Don’t take for granted what you have right now.
Kurt Hummel taught me to embrace what makes you different. You are who you are and you can’t let others drag you down. Hold your head high and be proud of who you are. No one can change you.
Blaine Anderson taught me to love passionately and to live with courage. When you really care about someone, it’s important to let them know and to fight for the ones you love. Don’t throw it away.
Quinn Fabray taught me that you are never going to live up to anyone’s idea of perfect and that’s okay. You have to do your best to be the best version of yourself, not someone else.
Noah Puckerman taught me to value your line. The line between your birth date and your death date. It’s important to value your life and the people in it, Leave the past in the past, because now is all you’re ever going to get.
Santana Lopez taught me to be honest. If people don’t like what you have to say, screw them. The people that care about you will accept you for who you are. The best way to be who you are is to be honest.
Brittany S. Pierce taught me that you don’t have to be smart to make it, you just have to set your mind to the things you love and that’s how you make it.
Tina Cohen-Chang taught me that you’re never really alone. Even when you feel left out or alone, someone out there cares for you.
Mike Chang taught me that no one can stop you from pursuing your dreams. You have to do what’s best for you. It’s your dream, not theirs.
Sam Evans taught me that everyone is insecure. It doesn’t matter how you look or how you act. Everyone has their insecurities and that’s not always a bad thing.
Artie Abrams taught me that it doesn’t matter who you or what’s standing in your way, you can dream. Use your disadvantages to the best of your ability. It can’t stop you.
Marley Rose taught me to write it down. Write it all down, because your words are important and they can have an impact on someone else’s life.
Jake Puckerman taught me that stereotypes don’t matter. People will judge you for who they think you are, but you can’t let that stop you from being who really are.
Kitty Wilde taught me that you aren’t always going to find yourself in the place you picture yourself. You don’t have to be on top to know where you stand. You can stand tall with a smaller crowd.
Ryder Lynn taught me that actions speak louder than words. Don’t just tell someone how you really feel. It’s important to show people how you feel.
Adam “Unique” Wade taught me that you have to embrace the best parts of you, even when no one else does. At the end of the day, what matters most is that you are comfortable bring you.
Roderick Meeks taught me not to hide behind music. It’s there and it’s a wonderful outlet, but don’t let that stop you from getting to know people.
Mason McCarthy taught me that you can’t let people control you. Do what’s best for you, not what someone thinks is best for you. Letting others control you won’t do you any good.
Madison McCarthy taught me that you can’t make people decisions for them. It’s in your nature to protect those you care about, but sometimes you have to set them free.
Jane Hayward taught me that it’s important to stand your ground, because that’s the only way you’re really going to get what you want. And sometimes, you can make a difference.
Spencer Porter taught me to be bold and willing to take on a challenge, even if you don’t think it’s the right thing for you. It may end up being the best thing for you.
Coach Beiste taught me that you have to love yourself before others can love you. Nothing is more important than taking care of you. If you don’t take care of you, you can’t take care of others.
Emma Pillsbury taught me that you have to embrace your fears to overcome. You can’t run from everything or you’re always going to be afraid.
Sue Sylvester taught me that everyone has weaknesses. No matter how tough you try to be, everybody hurts and everyone has a past. Don’t judge someone until you know their story.
And Will Schuester taught me to fight for what you believe in, because that is true accomplishment. Do what you love and never, ever give up.
The characters in this show have given me strength and encouragement. This show helped guide me out of a dark place.The actors in this show have given me so much and I’m grateful that they’ve put their hearts into these beautiful characters. I’m thankful for Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Dianna Agron, Mark Salling, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, Jenna Ushkowitz, Harry Shum Jr, Chord Overstreet, Kevin Mchale, Melissa Benoist, Jacob Artist, Becca Tobin, Blake Jenner, Alex Newell, Noah Guthrie, Billy Lewis Jr, Laura Dreyfuss, Samantha Ware, Marshall Williams, Dot Marie Jones, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, and everyone in between. Vanessa Lengies, Damian McGuinty, Samuel Larsen, Grant Gustin, Lauren Potter, and all the Warblers. Guest stars like, Idina Menzel, John Stamos, Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, Carole Burnett, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Whoopi Goldberg and everyone I didn’t list. To Jayma Mays, Mike O’Malley, Romy Rosemont, Iqbal Theba, Jonathan Groff .and the crew members. I’m grateful to Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and Brad Falchuk. Some times the stories frustrated us, sometimes they made us laugh, and sometimes they made us cry. At the end of the day, this show has captivated my heart.
Glee is a show about acceptance. It taught the audience that you can come from any background and someone out there will accept you for who you are. Social standings don’t matter, because in the end, we’re all losers. It’s the people that embrace you for all your faults that matter. It’s better to build a family with the people that really care about you and accept you. Family’s not about blood, it’s about love.
Glee inspires people to be everything they wanted to be. It’s a generational turning point. Couples like Kurt and Blaine or Santana and Brittany have given people the chance to come out with more confidence. It’s given people a chance to learn how to accept their children through relationships like Burt and Kurt. It gives people hope for a better future and that’s really beautiful.
It also shows people with disabilities that they don’t have to just be that disabled kid. You can follow your dreams. You can be accepted by other people, and you can step forward with more confidence and that’s a wonderful concept for a show to deal with. The characters aren’t your standard pretty, skinny faces. It’s about the misfits. The overweight, the disabled, gay kids, black or Jewish, the girl who was told to get a nose job… None of these characters were normal, no matter how hard they tried to be. Glee dealt with real topics. The pregnant teenager that got kicked out, the girl who’s grandmother didn’t accept her for being a lesbian, the boy who didn’t get into college and had no idea what to do, the kids who got bullied, teen marriages, gay bashing, racism, the juvenile delinquent that just needed someone to show that they care, heart break and falling in and out of love, the ones who were dared to fail at their dreams. It handled even heavier topics like suicide and school shootings. Becky was terrified of the real world and that’s exactly how she should have felt, because it is scary, especially for people in her situation. These topics are real. The characters didn’t succeed in everything, and that’s what makes this show so amazing. It’s life. You don’t get everything you want, but Glee shows us that we can pick ourselves back up again.
But Glee was also about opening yourself to joy. The silly episodes. Dancing around with puppets, dressing up like the spice girls, jumping on mattresses for a commercial… So many jokes and funny moments like Finn singing at dinner to tell Quinn’s parents about the baby or Burt dancing to Single Ladies as a graduation present to Kurt. It’s about falling in love for the first time. Blaine proposing to Kurt, Finn and Rachel kissing during Nationals, Brittana and Klaine getting married, Tina standing up for Mike against his father, or Will and Emma finally getting married and having a baby. But it’s also about the victories. The real victories and the personal ones. A National trophy or celebrating simply because “we’ve got another year.” It’s finding love and friendship within the choir room and out. This show was a beautiful blend of the ups and downs of life.
And then there’s the music. Glee is as much about the storylines as it is about the music. From the covers of songs we have always loved, the songs we learned to love, the covers we may not have liked, and the covers that were better than the original songs. The classic Warblers cover of Teenage Dream, the song that started it all, Don’t Stop Believin’. The heart wrenching covers like Make You Feel My Love. From Broadway to Pop, Rap, and every genre out there. The old songs, the new songs. It’s all there. From the original songs Glee wrote, the strange ones like Troutty Mouth or My Cup to the beautiful ones like Rise and Loser Like Me. Most of all, as we celebrate Glee’s farewell, the song This Time. Written by Darren and sung by Lea. The perfect blend of words and music that sums up how we all feel about Glee. It’s truly incredible. Glee has shown us a world of music we didn’t know existed.
The music, the characters, and the stories have given this generation so much light and hope. It’s given the fandom a chance to make friends, to look up to the wonderful actors, and to fall in love with these characters. With the music, the memories, and the episodes, we’ll be able to fall in love with the characters over and over again.
With Glee ending, we’ll still be able to support the actors that have given us so much. This whole Glee experience has been about the actors as it has been about the characters. It’s about going to the Glee live tour in 2011 and seeing the cast live. It’s been about supporting Lea when Louder and Brunette Ambitions came out. It’s about reading Choosing Glee and learning Jenna’s story a little better. It’s about following the story of Alex and Conner and meeting Chris Colfer at the The Land Of Stories book signings. Experiencing Carson’s story in Struck By Lightning for the book and movie. It’s about watching and voting for Amber and Derek every week on Dancing With The Stars. It’s seeing Heather and Naya become moms for the first time. It’s about flying to New York to see Darren in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Going out to Darren’s Listen Up! tour and meeting him there. It’s watching him wrap up the Harry Potter musicals with Starkid. It’s about the fans across the globe that wished they could participate in these events. It’s been every interview, screening, red carpet event, and fan meetings in between. And now that Glee is over, we can really watch the actors spread their wings and support them every step of the way. Going to New York to see Darren in Hedwig or Matt in Finding Neverland, and when Darren’s album eventually comes out, we’re all go to buy it. We can buy any music Lea or Amber or anyone else releases. Watching Scream Queens to support Ryan and Lea. Supporting Chris in the rest of The Land Of Stories and the millions of other books we know he’ll write. We will continue to love them all unconditionally and support them completely. This cast has truly been incredible and we will forever be grateful for them.
I’m also grateful for this fandom, and I truly hope everyone will continue to keep the friendships they’ve made through Glee. We’ve been through so much as a fandom. The Klaine riots, the spoilers, freaking out about meeting cast members and keeping each other company over a long hiatus. The incredible authors and artists of fanart and fanfiction that have let us fall in love with our favorite couples over and over. We’ve been through so much, and we’ve really come together as a family. Losing Cory Monteith proved that. It was very difficult for the fandom, as well as the cast and crew. We all came together in a special way, and it was so powerful. It really made me appreciate how beautiful this family of cast, crew, and fans really is. I will carry that part of me forever, and Cory will always be in my heart. All of you will be in my heart. The fans, the cast, and the crew. I owe Glee so much. It’s been my voice. It’s been a reason to laugh, a reason to cry, it’s been a beacon of hope for our generation, and a reason to believe in myself. I don’t know where I’d be without this show. I love everything about it. It’s going to b so hard t ay goodbye to Glee tonight, but the memories we’ve made will last a lifetime.
And that’s what Glee means to me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Glee, for everything.
