Who Knew?

I knew words could make a difference in someone’s life. What I didn’t know was how simple words could make a difference in my life. I was at school copying some papers for my teacher. Well when we started making copies, there were copies for another teacher coming out. My teacher asked if I knew where the other teacher was and if I could take the copies to her. I said it wasn’t a problem. The teacher I was taking the copies to happened to be one of my teachers from last year. When I walked in to the classroom, she smiled at me and started walking towards me. She was in the middle of speaking so she kind of made her way over to me slowly. When she got to me, she took the papers and said, “Thank you, sir.” I had to take a step back and force myself to say “you’re welcome.” It wasn’t because I didn’t mean it. It was because her saying those three words made my whole day.

For some people this may seem stupid. So what? They’re words. Nobody cares. But that’s not true. I care. This teacher was one of my teachers who took a little bit to adjust to different pronouns. That was okay. It took me time to adjust to people using different pronouns. She also occasionally slipped up. That was okay too. Everyone slips up. Even cis people get called the wrong pronouns sometimes. What made everything so much better was the fact that she didn’t hesitate or have to take a minute. It came out of her mouth like she had been saying it the whole time. Those are the moments that make transitioning so much better. When things are bad mentally, I can just think back to moments like those and remember why I’m going through all of this. To be the man I want to be and the man I want everyone else to see.

Don’t forget to be nice to someone today. You never know who is having a bad day and needs a friendly smile. Have a great night.