When I was young there was a time when I figured, the hell with it. I'd never even said the word transgender out loud.
I couldn't imagine myself saying it, ever. I mean, please.
Instead, one day a few years after I got out of college, I loaded all my things into the Volkswagen and started driving. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew I wanted to get away from the Maryland spring, with its cherry blossoms and its bursting tulips and all its bullshit. I figured I'd keep driving further and further north until there weren't any people. I wasn't sure what I was going to do then, but I was certain something would occur to me that end this transgender business once and for all.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is one of the many writers, artists, activists who contributed an original essay to It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living, which will be released on March 22. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon, through ItGetsBetter.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.
