You are eons beyond what those folks will ever imagine being possible. Behind their hatred is a fear so ingrained within them that it might be years, decades, or even a lifetime before they are able to name and acknowledge it. When your hair dangles and your heels clack down the street past them, they scoff in fear of what this world might become if everyone was allowed to shape-shift, to breathe, to strut proudly. You (we) are the living embodiment of a future of expansive, defiant possibility beyond the rules that make them feel safe and confident in this world. Maybe conservative lawmakers like Kim “Fairness = Transphobia” Reynolds, Cheryl “Not My Bathroom” Helmer, and Greg “Give a Snitch a Cookie” Abbott are not afraid of the beautiful 11-year-old trans girl living her best life in Texas, but they are afraid of what we represent. I use the word transphobic instead of anti-trans because I know it is fear that undergirds their hatred of folks like you – like us. It is hard to keep track of the amount of transphobic legislation being introduced, debated, and passed around the country (and to be honest – who wants to?). I know this to be true because I am one of those people. Despite this, you are so loved by folks who have never met you but are rooting for you and thinking of you every single day.
You have survived (or almost) another school year in a society full of more obstacles you should have to encounter. If you are reading this, please know that you are enough and perfect in this very moment.