I would like for everyone to take a moment and take a very nostalgic walk with me – one that has had many ups and downs, twists and turns and experiences that are unparalleled.

Picture a 6^th grade boy – introverted and awkward, wanting so badly for the more popular children to like him.  Shy among his peers and creative, this child was kind and caring and always felt like the teachers liked him more than his classmates.  Over the years, he was tormented and bullied, because he was different.  Not exactly knowing how he was different, he knew he wasn’t like everyone else.  Secretly he held inside that he was gay.  So afraid people would find out and the teasing and taunting of “fag” and “queer” would get worse, he just knew it. Severe depression consumed him, and that combined with years of bullying from his fellow students, lead him to a suicide attempt his senior year in high school.  He wasn’t able to graduate and even if he did, he had no vision of where he fit into the world in the future.  In his head, if college was anything like the Hell that was high school, he had no desire to go.

Now, flash forward to that same boy, only exactly ten years later…sitting at a long table at the front of a room of teachers, community, civic, political and religious leaders.  His suit a far cry from the jeans and polo of high school, sitting with him at the table are experts in everything from Criminal Justice to adolescent development.  As the room of 100 plus people ask the panel on which he sits how to put an end to the epidemic of bullying that has been progressively been getting worse with the advent of CYBER BULLYING.

A week ago I was asked by The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GAIC), the Georgia Municipal Association and America’s Promise Alliance to sit on a panel as a part of an anti bullying Summit entitled, “An Afterschool Grad Nation Summit: Creating Bully Free Environments for Student Success” in Milledgeville Georgia to address the problem of bullying and keeping children in schools.  I have not lived in this community in sometime, however I was more than eager to come back to the town that I will always call home and help.  As I sat there I have to admit, I was so humbled and honored.  Just ten years ago I never could have envisioned this day.  A day where my peers and fellow citizens were not only embracing of me as an equal, but where also visibly disturbed as I told of specific beatings and cases of bullying that I endured as a child. I got chills just sitting there as I spoke with my hometown’s Mayor (he and his wife have always been very supportive of diversity) on how I may be able to assist in this initiative.

That very moment I will admit made me the most proud…of myself, my town and my fellow Georgians.  We stood together… black, white, man, woman, straight and gay.  We stood united to fix a problem.  We looked past our differences and gazed onward.  I am so proud to have been able to be there to see that.

I have done many things in these past ten years – developed my own cosmetic line and started no less than three other companies.  I have met celebrities and traveled.  I have been on TV and have so many more things to come I am sure.  I live in a beautiful city, in a beautiful building.

Being asked by the local news to make a statement (view the video here and read the article here) on what we were doing and hoping to accomplish, being surrounded by such amazing men and women who have achieved so much in their careers and feeling like I was a part of something so much bigger than me – truly extraordinary.  Something that could actually help many children to live a happy life and to ensure that suicide is not an option for any child.  We discussed how the town as a whole can show that we embrace diversity and each other.

If this isn’t a testament to how terrifically things are changing, I don’t know what is.  I don’t know if I will be asked to be a part of anything like that in the future, but I tell you this – that day will go down in my scrapbook as a monumental day for me.  I never felt like a cool kid in high school, but I have never been more happy to have been different than I was as I looked in the audience and saw my Mother’s face, fighting back the tears.  I have seen her do that before…at my bedside in the hospital ten years ago, but this time it was different…this time it was as if to tell me…”look how far we have come.

I love you Mom and cannot even begin to tell you how thankful I am for you.

Be M Famous,

Christopher Macken

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Hello all.  Thank you all for your emails and inquiries requesting a new blog post.  I have been so very busy – no excuse, I know.  Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter may already know about the “goings-on” but for everyone else lemme just tell ya…

First of all, I am now the Creative Director of a beautiful salon here in Midtown Atlanta.  The feeling is so great to be able to go into a salon everyday and know that I am actively achieving my dreams and goals (still with many more to go).  Let this be proof positive that if you dream it, you can achieve it!  I have to say that the responsibility is great and the task can be stressful. However, it is worth it at the end of the day to know that I work with such terrific people and work for owners who share a great vision of the true meaning of a high-end salon.  To those people I say – thank you for everything!

In other news, all of you know just how much I LOVE having a full social calendar, and girls and boys, it has never been more full! YAY! From Gay Pride Atlanta to Halloween parties, I have been having a blast. Child please!?!?!?! Ok, so let’s talk PRIDE people. I had so much fun with my friend (that has been known as “M”) but will now and forever be known as “Tree House.”  LOL! She knows why.  I was so touched by Delta, Coca-Cola, Orbitz and Smirnoff Vodka for sponsoring the festivities.  These amazing sponsors are proof that the tides are turning in a beautiful, accepting direction.  The care and support of such large and powerful companies gives me hope that the rest of the country will come around as well.  It is so great!  Best way to describe it…LIVE IT LOVE IT LIVE IT!!!!!  Oh, and “Tree House”…May I have a to-go cup please!?

As I am sitting here writing to all of you, I am just getting settled in for the evening and unraveling my layers (love the cold weather). Coco and I are sitting at my desk that is nestled up to a large picture window that just so happens to be directly to the right of the balcony door of my new condo located on the 12th floor of  a gorgeous condo building in Midtown.  As I look up from my computer I see the buildings of Buckhead Atlanta and all of Atlantic Station.  The city lights are truly breathtaking and the sounds of the city never grow old. With this kind of view and Adam Lambert playing on the IPod (thanks Mom), I have to ask how I got so lucky?  Many of you may be thinking that my view of the sky line explains the title of the blog.  No sir!  Actually, it is to describe just how high I set my goals.   I moved here a mere 5 months ago. Just five months ago I was very new in a city about which I knew very little and had even fewer contacts.  But, something in me said that it was time for me to take this step.  I can tell you that the move was not an easy decision, but I truly felt that I needed to make a giant leap, knowing that it was in God’s hands.

Now naysayers always exist….but my inner voice kept telling me to reach for my goals….Hence the title of this blog “View from the Top.”  Though I have achieved so many of my goals, I am still not anywhere close to being at “the top.”  I want to encourage all of you to set your goals as high as your heart will allow.  Aim for that brass ring and reach for it.  Don’t allow anyone to ever tell you that you CAN’T! If I had had listened to those people, I would not be enjoying myself as much as I am now.  This reminds me of my favorite quote…”Life is about the journey and not the destination.”  Though I am far from my final destination, I am thankful for every minute of the climb. Push yourselves and grow from the journey.  Even when no one else seems to believe in you, know that I do.  How are you going about achieving your dreams and goals? What is your story? Email me, and I will blog about it.

*This Blog is dedicated to all of the children who have lost their lives as a result of bullying.  Just 10 years ago I was recovering from a suicide attempt after years of being bullied, because I was gay.  My hope is that no child ever has to resort to something like that ever again.  No goal is out of reach and every life has value.  Love yourselves and each other…not for the reasons that make you the same, but for the reasons that make you different! Loving one another is the only way to live “An M Famous Life,” and it is a major step toward your own “View from the Top!!!!!”

God bless you all!

Be M Famous

Christopher Macken