According to Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, “Approximately 1.6 million people ages 13 and older—0.6% of the population—identify as transgender in the United States.” 

Additionally, The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports, “Almost 2% of high school students identify as transgender.” 

Transgender students face many challenges throughout their school day. 

“[The biggest challenge] is mostly just people’s ignorance, sometimes willful, sometimes not. There’s a lot of restriction in high school and society in general whether people think about it or not,” junior Griffin Hollen said. “Even something as simple as using the bathroom or changing for the gym can become this massive hassle. Even worse, people ridicule you for being worried even though they don’t even understand what it feels like in the first place. It’s frustrating, the ignorance of it all.” 

Many students who have come out as transgender knew long before they came out that the gender they were given at birth is not the one they were meant to be a part of. 

“I think I’ve always known. I spent my whole life always feeling like something was wrong. When I first realized I was transgender, I cried. It was the first time in my life that I felt normal,” sophomore Theo Kessling said. 

“I’ve known since I was very very little,” Hollen said. “I just didn’t have the vocabulary until I was in the early years of middle school. I was the first person in my grade to come out as transgender, to my knowledge. It kind of felt like something was always off about me, and I didn’t understand it. Then once I knew what to call it, it all just fit. I’ve been infinitely happier since, and even happier than that once I realized that I didn’t need to exist as a strict gender just to make other people happy. I stopped trying to find a label because, to me, it just didn’t matter. I dress how I want, call myself what I want, love who I want. And if anyone has a problem with it, I pity them for spending their lives ridiculing others instead of finding their own freedom.”

Hollen has been out for five years, and Kessling has been out for three years. During this time, both have had different sources of inspiration and support. 

Kessling’s biggest inspiration comes from his younger self. 

“[Biggest source of inspiration] Is my younger self,” Kessling said. “I’m going out there and being myself because I knew that was always what I wanted growing up. I’m doing this for them.”

Hollen’s biggest inspiration comes from a place of familial support. 

“[Biggest source of inspiration] My sisters and my friends. The moment I came out they not only accepted it without a second thought, but they even voiced how they always saw it coming. I was lucky when I came out. I was always surrounded by people who supported me without a second thought,” Hollen said. 

There are many things students can do in order to support  their trans peers. 

“Learn to use the right name and pronouns, even if it’s tricky at first. It honestly means the whole world to us,” Kessling said. 

Learning to use pronouns and names isn’t the only thing that students can do to support their fellow pupils. 

“Just listen. Listen to our stories and the way we see the world. Listen to our rage, our stories, and see the way we love. See how we’re people and listen to our voices,” Hollen said. “ I feel like a lot of the world’s issues wouldn’t even be a second thought if people just took a moment to listen and see what and who we are.”

Hollen and Kessling reflect on their fear of coming out and give advice to students who might be nervous to do the same. 

Hollen reminds his fellow students to never give up. 

“Keep your head up, and know that no matter what happens on the news, no matter how much rage and hate is in your chest, just keep loving. If someone hates you, make yourself hard to hate. It’s unsatisfying not to fight back, I know, but it gets nowhere, trust me. Fighting hate with more hate is like throwing matches into an open flame,” Hollen said. “It just makes the fire and the problem bigger. So, no matter what, keep your head up, show what it means to be undefinable and lovable. Keep seeing the beauty in life and know that it can and will get better.”

Kessling reminds students that there is a place in the trans community where there will always be support.

“This world is really, really hard. It’s so hard to be yourself in a world where you are constantly put down for it. So, we have to be brave. This community is so incredible and supportive and I love being a part of it. You don’t have to be afraid to come out, because you will always have those who love and accept you. Even if you don’t know it yet,” Kessling said.