Hey all. Way back when I posted the first part of this series, the blurb I had on my homepage talking about its roadmap said that the last installment would be "a surprise". Well, here we are.
While the first three parts focused on summarizing and interpreting events that happened on both sides of the boundary between fiction and reality, this last part consists of me imparting the philosophy and positive affirmations I have given myself onto you.[1]
If you're transgender, you have to live.
You've seen variants of this quote all over the place, and for good reason. It is an objectively true statement. Living as yourself despite everything working against you is a powerful act of resistance and a victory for the human possibility.
Occassionally, people uttering this refrain like to add a sweetener to the sentiment; something to live for or to. The one I myself like to add most is to live to tell your tale.
Embrace Yourself
Your story deserves to be told in full. Every detail about how you got here is worth telling; do not be embarrassed in advance. Figuring out what it means to be yourself is commendable, not "cringe".[2]
Be creative! If you named yourself after a fictional character, be upfront about it. If you are willing to do cosplay, literally wear your namesake with pride. If you go by neopronouns, make something that will effectively introduce yourself and your pronouns to the world.
Being queer is a gift, not a failure state for cis- or heteronormative society. You are not a failure at anything. Remember, living is an accomplishment in and of itself.
You are visible because you are proud, not because others "can always tell".
You Deserve The Best
Your story deserves to be told in full and without interruptions. You deserve to be believed; your story taken at face value, no matter how fantastic it is. Speaking of belief, let your own prevailing faith carry you forward.
Your story deserves a happy ending. Afterwards, you deserve all the time in the world to create new stories. More stories, more celebrations of what makes us unique, make the world a brighter place.
Keep Flying Your Colors
Shortly after coming out to people for the first time, I expressed the desire to buy some pride colored accessories. One item that piqued my interest was a bundle of three matching trans pride friendship bracelets. I purchased them with the express purpose of keeping one and giving the other two to a pair of long-distance friends that entered my life around the time I started seriously entertaining the whole gender question. This chain of deliveries was completed at Beach Episode, and I was overcome with emotion upon it.
Fast forward to my birthday, which spent at The Great Escape and with a better handle on girlmoding. Plans to wave a handheld trans pride flag while on the rides so I can get photographed with it are thwarted by Six Flags' "If you take something out, you get thrown out." policy. It's mid-afternoon, and I'm in the queue for a runback with the Bobcat, the park's newest coaster. The bracelet plus a pair of pride colored fingerless gloves proved visible enough to pique the interest of someone else at the park.
They were able to grab ahold of me in the queue and offered me these words of encouragement:
Never stop flying those colors.
Needless to say, I felt great. All the tiny little things I did to remind myself that I am myself proved noticeable enough to attract the admiration of onlookers.