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Valedictorian “Grateful” He Came Out as Bisexual at High School Graduation

"I was not expecting this reaction at all."

Just days before WorldPride, a New York high school valedictorian came out as a "proud" bisexual man to his entire graduating class.

"I've struggled to be proud of something all my life, and since I'm preaching about being proud today it would be hypocritical of me to continue hiding," Mason Bleu said in his valedictory speech at the unnamed school, where he received a standing ovation from faculty and peers.

"For a long time, I struggled with my sexuality. I dodged it and ignored it because I wasn't proud of who I am. But today I am changing that. I am proud to be a bisexual man."

“I’ve struggled with being proud of myself for a long time because I was afraid that no one else would be proud of me and for me," the 17-year-old graduate continued. "But an important thing about being proud is that you should always be proud of yourself before you want anyone to be proud of you."

Bleu, an aspiring actor, told CBS This Morning this week that he decided to make the personal announcement while writing his speech, which was about being proud of yourself and your accomplishments.

"And then I got to the end and I realized there's something that I should be proud of that I'm hiding from everyone, and it would be hypocritical of me to tell everyone to be proud of something and then hide who I truly am," he said.

Bleu also admitted he did not include the part about his bisexuality in the written speech submitted to school administrators for approval, and even after he had taken the stage at graduation, he still wasn't sure he was going to come out. "I was scared of what people would think," he explained of his hesitation. "I’m not the stereotypical LGBTQ kid."

A video of Bleu's graduation speech, which he posted on Twitter, currently has almost a million views. He later tweeted that he was receiving many "positive responses."

"I was not expecting this reaction at all," he said. "I am grateful that I did it, I'm grateful for the reaction, and I'm, again, proud of doing something so great."

Watch Bleu's CBS This Morning appearance below.

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