It feels like I’ve had a big box of puzzle pieces in my head my entire life. These pieces are all little aspects of myself. My hobbies, my desires, my feelings. Every time someone told me “you just have to put the pieces together into what you look like as a man” I just couldn’t figure a way to fit them all together. It wasn’t until I ran into the idea that I might be trans that I had even a hint of what the puzzle could look like.

Before, if you asked me where I saw myself in 5 years, I couldn’t answer that question in earnest. It felt like I had no future as myself, so I would just give whatever answer I felt would fit the situation or get me the job.

Now, I can see her. A crisp image of who I could be. It’s hard to believe that future me is a she and not a he, but here I am. Only the trans community dared to say “maybe you can’t put yourself together as a man because you aren’t a man”.