Maggie’s Story
Despite only seeing princesses and princes falling in love on TV, I knew I liked everyone, not just boys. Once I got into middle school I finally learned the word associated with that feeling. However, I also learned that being queer wasn't something everyone accepted. I came out as pansexual to some of my close friends in 6th grade. Most of them didn't react well, but I knew there would be people out there who would accept me so I tried my hardest to be myself. I founded a GSA club at my middle school to meet more people who were like me. Around that time, I started to realize that I didn't really like being a girl. I knew that trans people existed, so I thought that maybe I could be a boy. However, the more I thought about it, that didn't really fit me either. In 7th grade, I started getting bullied a lot for being pansexual and for being in the GSA club. The bullying continued until halfway through my freshman year of high school. I caved in and suppressed my sexuality and forced myself to forget the confusion I felt surrounding my gender. I started to dress very feminine and told everyone being pansexual and dressing masculine was just a bad phase.
I didn't truly think about my sexuality or gender again until my freshman year of college. Some of my friends came out as bisexual and I realized it was okay to stop suppressing my sexuality. I soon after came out as pan to all of my friends and they were all very accepting. A few months later, I took a sociology class and learned about gender dysphoria and nonbinary identities. I thought a lot about how I was so confused about my gender. I started to realize that a lot of the feelings I had were actually gender dysphoria. I had never felt so sure in my life when I realized that I heavily related to being nonbinary. I started asking my boyfriend and friends to use they/them pronouns for me. Going into my sophomore year, I started transitioning. I cut my hair short, started dressing androgynously, and did everything I could to make my outside match how I felt inside. Since then, I started creating art about my experiences being queer and nonbinary. I've used my art to not only express how I feel, but to also show others my experiences and spread awareness. I've also decided to focus on finishing my education so that I can have a career helping LGBTQIA+ youth have access to resources that I never had. I'm hoping that in the future I can use both my art and my career to help others like me realize that it's okay to be who you truly are.
- Maggie (They/Them)
