Guess what. I know this will be shocking but...

I'm a trans boy. *Gasp*

Anywho. One thing I do to maintain my identity is an injection of testosterone. Once per week I jab myself with a needle and hope for progress.

What progress, you ask?

Well, facial hair for starters. My face is so fuzzy! I've only shaved my face once since starting testosterone 7 years ago.

Then there's my voice. It's gotten much deeper but right now it's cracking again. It's the same as a cisgender boy going through puberty. But it's kinda cool cuz now I can sing super deep.

There's other less desirable things that I have, like horrible back hair and gaining weight.

But the one thing I hate the most is the acne. I don't have a lot but the few I do get turn into abscesses. I've got one on the side of my chin the size of a dime. It's still under the skin. Hurts like hell. A few weeks ago I had one on my right boob that still hasn't healed completely. It was awful. I had to get medicated powder.

So when people say I chose this, I can't help but laugh. No I assure you I didn't choose to be transgender. I realized I was supposed to be a boy when I was 5. I read about transgender people when I was 16 and for the first time I didn't feel alone in the world. I chose to live openly as a trans guy. I chose to accept the good and bad. I accepted the risk and consequences. But it was my authentic truth.

And I recently learned something. Freedom of agency no matter what religion you believe in means you get to decide what you think about people who differ from you. Just because we're different doesn't mean either of us is bad or wrong if we keep an open mind. Religion's teaching of hatred of people like me is how people miss out on some wonderful nuance. We stand to learn much when we stop hating people for being themselves.

#Transgender #LGBT #3rdpuberty