Desi Lydic

You, there's nothing wrong with you.

You are made exactly the way you're supposed to be.

And your transness, your gayness, your lesbianism, your bisexuality, these are all divine, beautiful things that should be

celebrated and you should be celebrated.

That doesn't mean you don't work hard, make good grades and do what you got to do to like, you know, nothing, you know, work hard.

But you deserve to be here and you're beautiful and worthy because you are a child of God.

So hold on and

have a vision that is bigger than these circumstances.

Remember, like, this, too, shall pass.

But having, for me, having something to work towards, setting concrete goals around getting the F out of Alabama and to New York, wanting to be a star, and then, like, in the arts and having something that I could work on and work towards and get good at.

It kept, in so many ways, it kept, like, things affected me, but I was so focused on being the very best I could, making all A's.

And it was, you know, there's issues with that.

I'm in therapy, though.

I'm working on it.

Because my identity was defined by what I did, not by who I was.

But the good thing about that is that I found a love.

I found a love of learning.

I found a love of study that I have to this day.

I understand because I know my history as a black person, as black American, as a trans person, that I come from anointed stock.

My ancestors and transcestors died for me to have this moment that I get to live in right now, which is remarkable.