How long have I lived for others? How long have I tried to fit in?
I push down my wants and needs I ignore my own feelings I put on a mask so everyone else will accept me
How far back does it go? How long have I been afraid?
I had questions I never asked Feelings I never expressed Options I never explored all so I wouldn't be laughed at
I don't know how long I may never know But I accept myself now So I'm finished pretending
It's time to be me
Why must they hate us? We only want to be ourselves To exist honestly To show who we are We choose our names We tell people what to call us Yet they refuse They insist that they know better But they don't How can anyone know us better than ourselves? Why must we be afraid To introduce ourselves To wear the clothes we want To have the bodies that make us comfortable That's all we want To exist To be who we are Why is that so much? Why?
You never knew me as he yet you take one look and judge me My hair too short, my chest too small you see one detail instead of them all And if you looked a little higher you'd see the pin that says “she/her” But you don't see me, you see a boy As though trying to strip away my joy For you see, I shed my strife And learned how to love life This is what you'd see If instead of judging, you got to know me
I have a pair of magical socks They might look ordinary to others But to me, they are most extraordinary They helped me open my eyes
They showed me who I really am
It's astounding what a difference small changes can make reshaping my entire outlook on the rest of life
When I began I was terrified The path was unknown
I gazed into the mirror And realized one day That my inside and outside Looked nothing alike