Looking back on it now, this was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had to submit a lot of evidence and wait for a few weeks, but eventually I got a piece of paper saying I could play. After talking for a bit, asking questions and having a think, I took the plunge - with their support, I submitted a request to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to play for a male team. I also had not accessed many male-only places and was worried about this.īut by complete chance, I met some members of an inclusive rugby team called the Typhoons. I never had a place where I felt I could be open about who I am, and I’d never met people in a similar situation to me. With the right supportive environment, I slowly came out, which felt great - I never thought something as simple as pronouns would make me so happy! After been out for a few months, I changed all my documents and started receiving specific support.Īround this time, I happened to be moving to a new city - an opportunity for a fresh start. A nurse commented that while coming out might not make everything drastically better, me being comfortable in myself was very important. This comment really stayed with me and consequently I didn’t come out for a while.Īfter having social and mental health support a few years back I started having these conversations again. I thought coming out would help ease some of my problems, but then someone said that there was so much going on in my life coming out would just add to this. It felt I was living a lie - both to other people and to myself. I started showing signs of mental health problems like anxiety and PTSD at around nine or ten years old, and started self-harming a couple years after this.Īround this time, I also started having conversations with myself and a select few people around my identity.
I didn’t exactly have the easiest of rides growing up - there was a lot going on.