Avox, United States (he/they)

“Insist your truth every day of your life no matter how many people tell you you're wrong.“

Was there a definitive moment you realized you were trans? How old were you?

I was ten when I first identified as enby (I didn't know what it meant back then.) I was thirteen when I thought in the bathtub, "I wonder what it's like to be a boy." I was fourteen when I began identifying as genderfluid. I was fifteen when I named myself. I was sixteen when I first experienced gender dysphoria bad enough that I cried. And it felt good, because it means I really was a man.

How soon after did you start to make changes? What were these changes?

I renamed myself at fifteen. I got my first binder last year. I can't go on T till this fall, but it will be just as worth it as every other step I've taken.

Have these changes started to make you feel more comfortable in your life and body?

Absolutely. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

What would you tell your younger self? Would you do anything differently?

Push. Push hard. Insist your truth every day of your life no matter how many people tell you you're wrong. There will come a day when you don't want to hurt yourself. Where waking up doesn't result in a panic attack. You have to fight for it. It will be terrifying. It will feel like the world is against you. But this, too, will pass. You have to stay alive to see it pass. Because if there was no hope left, their propaganda would be unnecessary.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I'm going to stay alive through the next four years, come hell or high water. I will not let the MAGA-Nazis take away what is rightfully mine.

Have the gender-affirming steps you’ve taken impacted your overall happiness and sense of well-being?

Yes.