Sometimes life puts such heavy stones in your path that you lose your way.
You find yourself in the middle of a dark forest.
Without music playing in your ears, you’d probably lose your mind.
Reality often cuts deeper than pain.
You don’t get used to it—you just learn to survive it.

Whenever I try to talk to people about my problems,
I always get hit with the same response.
As if every problem I have has one single cause:

— I talk about family issues: “You’re not a woman.”
— I mention my health problems: “You’re not a woman.”
— I speak about the problems in my country: “You’re not a woman.”
— I share the major challenges in my life: “You’re not a woman.”
— I describe the injustices I’ve faced: “You’re not a woman.”

I’ve started getting emails that subtly blame my herniated disc,
my family trauma, even my struggles and biological conditions—
on the fact that I’m trans.
And honestly, I take a certain satisfaction in replying to them.
Because every day, I see more clearly
how many people in this world are ignorant, hypocritical, selfish, and transphobic.

My writing isn’t even about being trans, really.
I’m sharing my life.
My experiences. My dreams. My ideals.
Being trans is something that’s part of me.
It’s at the core of my body and my life—
Not yours.

I don’t care about every message.
Some I delete without even reading.
I ignore the ones where transphobic people write long paragraphs,
thinking their words matter.

Life is already hard enough.
And I don’t make room for people
who try to make it harder.


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