5 of the most heartwarming good news stories of 2022

Despite the struggles the LGBTQ+ community faces, beautiful things happen daily. People fall in love, communities fight for acceptance, families support their loved ones, and so much more.

Throughout the year, LGBTQ Nation made sure to celebrate these moments. Here are five of our favorites.

When this grandpa showed support for his trans grandson

A tear-jerking TikTok shows the grandfather of trans college student Cazorla Fernández’s removing an old photo of Fernández and replacing it with an updated snap, then adding the frame to his collection of family photos.

Get the Daily Brief The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you.

“I smiled like an idiot,” Fernández said when his grandfather asked the newly transitioned college student for the pic to replace his likeness.

AdBridg.cmd.push(function() { AdBridg.display("div-gpt-ad-inarticle2"); });

“I posted this one specifically because a lot of trans youth are scared about what their family members will think or do when they come out,” he explained to Newsweek. “I was certainly worried about that too. I posted the video to show that it isn’t a generational issue — that being old isn’t an excuse to be unsupportive of family you are supposed to love.”

When a 10-year-old created a free LGBTQ+ library to fight book bans Shutterstock

In June, a 10-year-old girl worked to ensure LGBTQ+ books were available in her Louisiana town.

“I think there should be all kinds of books in the library,” she told The Acadiana Advocate. “There are a lot of people that are LGBTQ. I think people would like to see books they’re like, too.”

Newton was inspired to create her Little Queer Library, which she painted with the LGBTQ+ Pride flag, after attending a Lafayette Public Library Board of Control meeting with her mother, during which the board discussed banning certain books.

“I hope that if the library sees this there will really be no point in banning LGBTQ books and so they won’t actually do it,” she said.

When a flight attendant proposed to a pilot in flight

Passengers aboard a June 15 Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles witnessed a surprise engagement when flight attendant Veronica Rojas used the airplane’s public announcement (PA) system to propose to her partner of two years Alejandra Moncayo, an airline pilot.

Moncayo explained over the PA system that the two met aboard an Alaska Airlines flight to San Francisco in 2020 while Rojas was working for the airline as a flight attendant. In response to this information, passengers cheered and applauded as two nearby flight attendants flapped their rainbow-colored fans in approval.

AdBridg.cmd.push(function() { AdBridg.display("div-gpt-ad-inarticle3"); });

After getting on one knee and stating Moncayo’s full name, she said, “My goddess. With you, I’ll go to the skies. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?” She then pulled a small ring box out of the side of her dress and opened it, presenting a ring to Moncayo.

Moncayo then kissed Rojas, and Rojas put the ring onto her partner’s finger as the passengers cheered and the flight attendants flapped their fans open and closed.

However, unbeknownst to Rojas, Moncayo had also planned on proposing. As they deplaned the flight and walked towards the gate, Moncayo proposed. Of course, Rojas accepted.

When a queer teen activist turned an insult into a million dollars Olivia Julianna Provided

In July, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) attacked a queer teen activist, mocking her body because she’s pro-choice. The teen took his insult as an opportunity to do some good and raised $1.4 million in funding for an abortion fund.

19-year-old Olivia Julianna wrote on Twitter, “It’s come to my attention that Matt Gaetz — alleged pedophile — has said that it’s always the ‘odious.. 5’2 350 pound” women that ‘nobody wants to impregnate’ who rally for abortion. I’m actually 5’11, 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place.”

The rightwing site Newsmax said that Gaetz’s comments were “sure to raise dander of his political opponents,” so Gaetz decided to make a joke about Julianna’s body by sharing her profile picture and writing “dander raised,” implying that he doesn’t care about her opinion because she’s one of the unattractive pro-choice activists he was mocking.

Julianna hit back with a tweet linking to the Gen-Z for Choice Abortion Fund, a fundraiser organized by Gen-Z for Change. This youth-led organization advocates reproductive freedom.

AdBridg.cmd.push(function() { AdBridg.display("div-gpt-ad-inarticle4"); }); When a community held a kiss-a-thon to support a gay couple