I just finished my 3rd parent's night as Suzi, where parents of my students come in to meet me. In contrast to past years, I'm no longer concerned that parents will give me a hard time for being Trans or treat me like a zoo animal. To them I'm just another teacher teaching their children.
After one of the sessions, a parent came up to me and told me that in addition to teaching her son this year, I also taught her oldest daughter. I remembered her well - one of the most remarkable students I had ever met. I asked how she was doing. Her mother said she had gotten a degree from MIT in aerospace engineering and is now getting her PhD from the University of Tokyo. She told me her daughter spoke very fondly of me and really liked my class. I thanked her and asked her to say hello to her daughter for me.
It wasn't until after she left that I remembered that I had been A MAN when I taught her daughter, and that her daughter no doubt remembered me that way. The mother had obviously known me as a man as well, but it didn't matter. To her I was a human being who had a positive impact on her daughter's life.
Transition doesn't have to be this earth shaking thing that shatters traditional morality and leaves us cowering in the shadows lest we be judged. We can be proudly transgender and make our marks on the world.
