Back between the years of 2006 and 2022, a girl I knew existed.
She was innocent, bubbly and knew how to find the good people in the world. But she unfortunately knew how to find the bad ones too.
They were ruthless and cruel to her and bashed at her self-esteem and her confidence. But as she grew up, she realised that those bad people just existed to be cruel because others had influenced them to be that way or they never grew to understand her.
She never understood why she was different.
She befriended two boys and they roleplayed a fantasy land each school day to past the time at lunch and break. As she did, she realised that she fitted in more with them than the girls.
But when she started secondary school, the feeling of being different was increasingly more noticeable.
As it got to Year 10 in her secondary school, she began to get more and more agitated with her long hair. She begged her mother relentlessly to cut it shorter because she didn't feel comfortable with it long. And soon, as August 31st came around, it finally happened.
On the early days of her brand new haircut, when people asked why she cut it so short, and she'd reply that she didn't like her long hair and by having it short like that, it would be a simple brush and there would be no scrambling to find a hairtie in the morning.
But as the next year went past, it was soon time to leave secondary school, time to say goodbye to a place filled with both trauma and core memories. And that... is where her gender journey truly began.
When she arrived at college for the first time, she felt terrified. Her Anxiety was at an all-time high.
But as it got to near the end of September, she had an epiphany about her gender identity. She didn't want to be a boy and she didn't want to be a girl. And so she, no... THEY realised the label that was linked to them more was non binary. And so from this discovery, they came out to their mother. And she accepted, embracing her proud mother as they both had happy tears in their eyes.
And from then as they came back to college after the weekend, they took it upon themselves to come out as Non-Binary to their friends and LSAs. They too accepted her.
However, one friend was confused on it, but soon learned to accept it too.
But from then, the college reset their preferred pronouns from she/her to they/them on the college system. And when the staff used their pronouns for the first time... it was like they had an imaginary tail and it wagged with happiness.
And it was the year after, in 2023, that they realised their true identity that they identify with to this day.
Demiboy. He/They.
"But, Akira, who is this person?" You ask.
Well, readers...
That person was me.
