“… And so my mom just keeps telling me about kids who knew what was going on with them from the start, but I didn’t know a thing. How was I supposed to know, though? I mean, I felt something was off, but I just thought it was because I was ugly and I hated everyone.”

“I just… I just wonder if maybe I’m crazy or something. I felt worse after becoming a teen, but I really did think I was going to get better. But I mean, I wore dresses when my mom told me to, so I guess… I don’t know.”

“Hey, you don’t have to have known right away. When we’re born, no one comes into the room to tell us the meaning behind everything we’ll feel. Some people just figure things out faster than others. It’s not exclusive to dysphoria, either, sometimes it takes more time to notice things like depression, or heck, even the flu.”

“Are you serious? But my mom said…”

“My mom said a lot of things, too. Some things are just better to learn ourselves.”

“That makes sense. Wow.”