I'm not going to disclose my real name for privacy reasons, but my online name is FleurGirl and I have known I was transgender for as long as I can remember. I knew I was transgender before I even knew what the world was, and as a small child I would always sit up in bed and pray that God would "fix" me and put my in the right (female) body.
When I hit puberty, I fell into a deep depression. I struggled more and more with gender dysphoria through middle school and in high school, and at the beginning of my Junior year I had a mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Yep, sounds pretty crappy, right?
However, I found myself. I realized that I was going to live my life how I wanted to, whether people would accept me or not. People like Laverne Cox, Gigi Gorgeous, Stef Sanjati, and forums (like this one) gave me the extra boost of bravery to begin my own transition. So, here I am, 17-years-old and on testosterone blockers. I already feel 100 times better, and I just hope that, as a society, we keep progressing in terms of LGBTQ+ equality and gender equality.
Much love, FleurGirl