So right now, I'm going through a pretty rough time. I'll paraphrase it to "I made a mistake". And it seems I can't get out of the hell I've made for myself. But then this happens...
I went over to a friend's place the other day. And she says, "You've got to see this. My son made it for school." Her son is about, what, 7 now? I've known him since he was 4ish, so he's known me since before transition... Anyway, she pulls out this little stapled-together book he made in class. And I'm thinking, 'aw how cute'. And my friend is going through it, pointing at the pictures, saying "This is me, and Daddy," and so on. And there's 'little kid' drawings of everyone, and they're flippin' adorable. And then she says, "And this is his hero. They had to put their hero in the book..." I'm thinking, 'oh it's gonna be batman 'cause this kid loves batman'... and it wasn't. And I'm staring at this brown haired, green eyed drawing of some guy, and she says, "It's you."
I looked up at her, and she's smiling from ear to ear. She says, "You're his hero, because you showed him that
anyone can be
anything they want to be. He really believes that he can be whatever he wants to be now, because if a girl can be a boy, than what could possibly stop him from obtaining his dreams, too? You did something everyone said was impossible. You're his hero."
I didn't cry. But I smiled for the first time in a long time.
Sometimes when it's darkest and you've lost all hope... When people make you feel like a freak or a monster... Sometimes you're still someone's hero simply because you stood up and tried.
So moral of the story? Just. Keep. Swimming
