People often ask me why I choose to live my life so publicly. I lived in stealth almost all of my college career, and most likely could have for the rest of my life. I chose to be open and public because I know the privilege I hold as a white, passable, trans woman, and I want to utilize that privilege to lift up my community. People see me and they sometimes group me as an exception to their anti-transness, because of the way I present. I’m not an exception, and I don’t want to be. I’m lucky that I haven’t experienced violence because of my identity, because that’s not the norm. A lot of trans people, especially trans women of color, don’t get to experience the luxury of being unapologetically themselves 24/7. I hope that through my story, people are able to see that reality of what it means to be transgender, that we’re humans just trying to be comfortable in our skin. That we have families and friends and coworkers just like everyone else. That we’re not monsters or predators. That we deserve love and that we’re proud of who we are. Happy Pride Month 💓