I’ve struggled with understanding my feelings about my gender ever since I was in elementary school. I felt that there was something wrong with me, but I had no way to understand or communicate it. Whenever the teachers asked for strong, young boys to help carry chairs, I stepped up. When I had to transition from playing baseball to softball, I felt disappointed and confused. However, my main concern now is that I will be unable to pay for university. My parents are transphobic, and my mom is extremely open about it to me. I plan to begin testosterone once I’m 18, and I have doubts that my parents will help me pay for college when I do. Since I filed the FAFSA with my dad, I don’t receive as much financial aid as I would have if I'd filed as an independent. I’m terrified that I will lose the support of my parents, and that my lack of financial aid will give me a massive amount of debt. Moreover, I’m quite open about being transgender to the schools I’m applying to, but it may not turn out well for me, especially in this political climate. I’m aware that I could face discrimination or struggle to get into schools if they see that I’m transgender. Teachers and students alike may treat me differently than if I were just cisgender, and it slightly disturbs me how my English teacher told me to consider the political climate I’m sending my essay into, since I wrote the content of it as an allegory for being transgender. The LGBTQ+ community has made a lot of progress towards fighting for its rights, but there’s still plenty of discrimination and prejudice towards us, especially for those who question their gender. I’ve been called brainwashed and mentally ill, even though I’ve never been in control of these feelings. In my freshman year, I attempted to detransition for the benefit of my family and to face less criticism, but it caused me to feel more hopeless and depressed. Ever since I began accepting myself, I wanted to ensure that other transgender and non-binary people can do the same. In university, I plan to major in psychology, and one of my goals is to contribute to research on transgender neurology. Scientists have been studying brain differences between trans and cisgender people for years, and I hope to further emphasize or support this research by doing some of my own in college. I would also like to study some nature vs. nurture aspects of gender identity to see which is more influential or if they’re equal in their impact. Additionally, I believe that sort of research will help non-binary and other gender identifying people feel more comfortable as themselves. The studies I’ve seen thus far have helped me accept myself due to the fact that brain differences assist in proving that it is natural to identify this way. Another thing I would love to research is gender-affirming healthcare and how it provides euphoria to those who receive it. One of the main arguments I’ve been faced with is that people who use surgeries to transition or affirm themselves actually regret doing it; however, those people are not the majority who undergo those procedures. I believe it’ll be beneficial to prove that the surgeries are more helpful than they are harmful, and it would reduce the stigmatization of them. The work I plan to do will not only aid in the acceptance and respect for trans and non-binary communities, but it’ll also provide comfort to those who believe they are unnatural.