Morgan, United States (he/they)

“Many people who love you but don't accept you right away will come to accept you when they see the positive impact transitioning has on your life."

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

I began realizing I was trans around age 6-8 when I began to envision puberty as a process that would transform me from a young girl with short hair into an adult man with long hair. I didn't know words like "trans" or "nonbinary" but I regarded myself as "a girl who isn't a girl and a boy who isn't a boy," where a sense of belonging and not belonging to both of those genders defined my identity that I would later label as "androgynous" "nonbinary" "genderfluid" "genderqueer" and "transmasc".

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

I began with sharing my identity with close friends around late middle school/early high school, asking to go by a nickname unrelated to my deadname and he/they pronouns. I came out to my parents in high school but wasn't allowed to medically transition until I was an adult. I started T in 2014, had top surgery in 2016, and a complete hysterectomy-oophorectomy about a year later.

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

The changes I've made to my body have overwhelmingly resolved the dyphoria I felt prior to transitioning. I now love to look at my body in the mirror, I love my androgynous combination of "masculine" and "feminine" traits, and I love being able to move fluidly through different gender presentations depending on my mood.

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

Things can change for the better. Many people who love you but don't accept you right away will come to accept you when they see the positive impact transitioning has on your life. Finding community is crucial. You are not alone.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

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

Yes.