David, Austria (he/him)

“We gotta stick together instead of dividing. Live and let live. Respect each other."

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

I was 15 and wanted my voice to be deeper (because I was dysphoric, although I didn’t know that concept yet). I noticed that all the YouTube tutorials for voice deepening had “ftm” or “trans” in the title, which made me research and realize that that was me.

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

I came out to my parents a few months after realizing. I cut my hair a few months later. At the same time, I started wearing more masculine clothes.

After 2 years I finally got testosterone, which slowly moulded my body into the right shape. Minoxodil for beard growth was one of the greatest aids, too. Never underestminate the power of facial hair, even if it isn’t “strong” or “full”. You rock whatever you got in whatever way you want to!

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

100%. I think I realized over time that this is how cis people felt their whole lives: comfortable. Like the saying goes: “If you grow up in a burning building, you think the whole world is on fire.” It isn’t. Life can be okay.

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

I wouldn’t do a thing differently, for sure. But I would be there for him, hug him and tell him all the things I didn’t get to hear. The things I write here right now, in hopes of them helping someone like my younger self.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Find your way of how you see being trans.
For some, it’s a celebrated part of their identity and the only way to live happily is to be out, proud and loud.
For others (like me) it is a medical issue that needs to be treated the way each individual wants to, and nothing that we ever want to talk about, because it isn’t a fundamental part of our identity.
Every way is valid. We gotta stick together instead of dividing. Live and let live. Respect each other.

Oh, and: it does get better. Keep going.

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

Yes.