00:00I didn't used to believe in myself very much at all. During school I was bullied
00:04terribly every single day. Frankly I used to go to bed most nights wishing not to
00:09wake up the next morning and that's because of how other people made me
00:11feel about myself. I don't believe that I'm an inherently like depressed person.
00:15I'm quite happy but yeah it was it was really tough and I think a lot of what
00:21I've been able to do for myself now and the visibility that I've centered myself
00:25in so much has been on the other side of that. I feel like I've had so much to
00:28prove to myself and to people who have tried to knock me down and I've been
00:33really amazed by how much you can do with confidence. You really can fake
00:37confidence as well. You can kind of gaslight yourself into believing that you
00:40can do something and then you can do it. My advice to young people who are
00:45struggling with acceptance would be to build a great support network. You need
00:49to have friends who you really resonate with even if people think they might be
00:54a bit weird even if people might associate you with being a bit different.
00:59You have to have people that you can normalize your own experience through. I
01:02think it's so important to not feel isolated and alone in whatever it is
01:07that you're going through and whatever intersection you're sat at in society I'm
01:10not just speaking to young trans kids here or young queer kids. I think it's so
01:14important to be able to normalize yourself and to feel like at home with the
01:17people that you surround yourself with. The friendships I have now at 32 are some of
01:21the greatest achievements I have in my life. I love my friends so much they've
01:25enriched my life so much. So just try and make some really good friends, some steady
01:30friends and just practice being a loving, loyal, consistent person in the
01:35friendships that you cultivate in your life.
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