Speak Up: Transgender Day of Visibility

I look at myself in the mirror and see this girl who had nothing but admiration for herself for all the things she has accomplished and gone through. That was quite a mouthful and sort of bragging but that was who I saw in the mirror. Someone special.

Every year this day comes, and I am constantly reflecting on what have I done with my life. I think of many ways that I was able to advocate for myself and others. I know that I can do a lot more but just being out there and having a voice is more than enough (for now). However, I am hyper-aware of the contributions that I can do to society. My recent video talked about my name change and how people are still having a hard time switching from my dead name to my new name. It is something that I am passionate about because I wanted to be able to present myself in a way that coincides with the person that I am now. I love my birth name, and that will always be a part of me but that is not something that matches me. It might be difficult to explain. On the other hand, I wanted to say thank you to my friends and families who have been so great at helping me introduce my new name to others. I am certain they had difficulty doing the switch, too but I know that love was there and it was more than I could ask for.

Thanks twitter for this picture, what a great reminder

Advocating for others and ensuring every trans individual is allowed to love and be loved. On top of being seen has been a priority in my blogs. I write blog posts, and I continuously write on the platform to foster more awareness, educate people and normalize things that some people think are odd. I heard many years ago that I was going through a phase, and was like, "Honey, I am not teething."This is me and this is not a phase. Pronouns, pronouns are so important and people might say it is not significant. It has a huge impact early in the transition period for every trans man and woman.

There are so many transgender individuals out there who have done many contributions that I am so proud of. I want to be able to influence others in my small way. The work is meaningful, and we should continuously support one another to ensure that every transgender individual feels safe and live with dignity. Today does not only highlight the contributions we have to society as a whole. It also presents our challenges. This is the time when we can unite. Start a discussion on how to approach them in a way that is peaceful and engaging. We also need to celebrate those hardships we experienced because they are a part of our journey. It is up to all of us to navigate the solutions and take part in creating change.

I am Trans and I am proud

So important to empower everyone and all the allies. People need to be seen. Trans people have spent so much of our lives and for us to be visible and live our authentic lives publicly can pose a challenge. How many violent and discriminatory attacks have you heard on the news that involves transgender people? A lot. It is a work in progress, and we have seen rights being taken away from us and that is not right. We have a fight that we need to deal with daily, and it is going to be a long one. We need all the help we can get.

Today is just one of those days that I am visible and vulnerable to everyone. My voice is here to stay.