Usually we look at being Trans as an ailment; a condition to be corrected or a difficult struggle to be overcome. I understand those feelings and I’ve had them as well. However, I also embrace much about what it means to be Trans. I really feel like it’s a journey to be cherished and experienced fully because like any good journey it can enrich your life. I feel like if you're mindful about it there are four main benefits that you can get out of being Trans.
First, by being Trans you learn a great deal about yourself. It seems the theme of so many movies that someone has a midlife crisis and has to go off to “find themselves.” If you are Trans it’s a continuous journey of self discovery so that even as you change you are aware of yourself. With this kind of self awareness you are able to build an inner strength most have no idea is possible. You are also able to recognize your individual dreams and desires and with that knowledge you can set goals for yourself to reach those dreams and live a fulfilled life. It may seem like a pain sometimes to be constantly asking yourself, “who am I, what do I want?” But this is something everyone should do and as long as you have the courage to answer those questions honestly and be true to yourself you will be greatly rewarded.
The second great benefit of being Trans is that you gain a new perspective on life. We are taught to believe in certain societal norms as though they are fact and we believe them because everybody else does. When you are Trans you bust a huge hole right in the center of one of those norms; the idea that sex is equivalent to gender. As soon as you do that it opens your eyes to the realization that nothing is as it seems because everything you thought you knew is questionable. What else has society taught you to believe, what else do you think you know, that isn’t true? This new perspective on life will open your mind to a more varied and interesting world, one that you can share with others and through constant questioning may change in the future.
Also, by being Trans you gain a greater level of empathy. You have had to struggle and to deal with quite a lot emotionally which makes you better able to understand the pain of others. Empathy is so important in our society because it helps us to build connections with others. Our society tries to break apart into groups and segregate itself accordingly so that we think we can’t relate to another unless we have shared the same experience. We need to learn to say, “I haven’t been through what you are experiencing, but I've been through enough that I can understand.” That way we open our lives to a greater capacity for human connection.
Finally, it just makes you stronger! To be Trans means to have gone through a deep, internal struggle, accept yourself fully, and have the guts to expose your true self to the world. You can’t do any of these things without courage and once you have gone through this you can handle anything! So congratulations, because no matter what life throws at you next you are going to be just fine.
I feel like I’m taking you down the yellow brick road, only this Dorothy has to know how to tuck. We’ve learned who we are and what is important to us, we’ve learned our world is more exciting than we ever imagined, we’ve learned how to make friends no matter who we meet, and we’ve even gained a badge of courage! Only, instead of learning that there’s no place like home, we’ve learned that there is no person like your true self. So go be you!
No comments:
Post a Comment