I acknowledged my multi-gender attraction only a few years ago. Growing up, I pigeonholed myself into assumed heterosexuality. I grew up in a single parent family, and the overall environment was homophobic. At school, people were picked on relentlessly for being queer. As a kid, you absorb this and what is the wrong or right way to act. But by trying to keep that door closed, I experienced a lot of social anxiety and depression.
When I was 14, I moved out of home. There was a lot of violence in my house and a lot of alcohol abuse. I also had to take on the role of mother [for my siblings] when my mother passed away. I looked like my mum too, so there was a lot of complexities around grief and loss. Now, when I look back, to have a safe home with a loving partner, wonderful friends, and a great job that I love, this life may not have been my story.
I’m very passionate about the things that I believe in and want to support. I see how my origin story has impacted my strengths and I think I’ve always been interested in working with people who want to make changes even if they don’t know how. I want people to see themselves as represented and cared for.
If someone had listened and supported me, to make changes for my true path, I would have so much time back. To have a co-author would’ve been pretty cool. To me, “Understand the story. Support the change.” is about being able support people to control the narrative of their own story and to have an easier path forward. It comes back to being listened to and being believed and being heard.