KG, United States (he/him)

“Be proud you know who you are and don't let anyone else who doesn't know or feel that tell you your place."

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

I was pretty young, around 3 or 4 when my perception of myself started coming in and without any external force, I was just a boy in my mind. It wasn't anything other than who I was, and I didn't feel any different than the other kids. Just a bit of a quirky boy.

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

When my cousin and I would play our imagination games as children, I would take the boy role. Playing in games, seeing cartoons, I always identified with the guy characters. As I got older and grew into a teenager, I started asserting my style more, I started realizing the world wasn't necessarily open to the idea of someone like myself telling them who I was, being young. But I knew even then. When I grew into a young adult, I started HRT but was unable to continue for a short time due to financial difficulty, but after I saved up for top surgery I was also able to afford HRT, and that is my life so far!

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

Absolutely. Ever since I got top surgery it was like all the brain static in my head turned down to almost 0 and I feel better in my skin every day. Looking in the mirror and watching the young man I am age into the older man I am becoming is such a fantastic feeling inside, like claiming my destiny.

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

I would tell him to be louder and prouder. I spent a lot of time trying to minimize myself to make other people comfortable and we still ended up in the political climate we have. No amount of cutting yourself down to size to make other people feel better about their own shortcoming is going to make you feel good. Be proud you know who you are and don't let anyone else who doesn't know or feel that tell you your place.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Be loud. Be proud. Silence is death. I walk a path that many queer elders before me have forged and I am fortunate to have two feet to take me forward. There are many who are not as lucky as myself, or even you reading this, and it is our duty not just to ourselves, but to those who cannot fight, to bring light to this world and to be exactly who we are in our truth. No government, no person, and no one thing will ever take that from us, they can try every day, and they will fail in our fire of love.

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

Yes.