In about 6th grade, I began to realize I didn't quite seem like I felt my body was 'mine'- ever. It always felt incredibly heavy and it felt almost as though I had been given the wrong hand in life. I slowly began to hate my reflection, my voice, everything. I managed to get my head shaved and even though I still looked like a girl, when I looked in the mirror, I almost felt free. Sure, I still wasn't 'me', but I was a little closer. In 7th grade, I began to realize that "Hey, I don't think I'm a girl." I began to identify as genderfluid to close friends and would wear baggy jackets to try to give the impression I wasn't a girl- this never worked. I remember distinctly I was sitting with an art table when I told someone that I was trans- that sometimes, I didn't feel like a girl. Sometimes, I felt like a boy. She looked at me and said "That's not trans." Never spoke another word to her. About two weeks later, I asked a close friend to only refer to me as "Alex" and to use He/Him for me. I nearly began sobbing when they did. It felt like they were referring to me, not this person I was born into. The name did not stick, however. In 8th grade, I was outed to my mom. I don't want to get into details, but it was an uphill battle for quite some time. She wouldn't use my name, and she also told my dad, who was even worse. My mom would use the excuse "I'm going through a lot" to keep me quiet. It was my older sister coming out as trans that got her to stop. My dad? Well, we ordered pizza one night, and he misgendered me in front of the pizza delivery worker, saying "You're my kid, I can call you what I want" and I remember going "No, I'm your son." Somehow, that's all it took. It's been 5 years since I realized I was a boy, and 6 years since I began to hate my body. I'm now on Testosterone and have two parents who accept me and managed to get over their own prejudice and help me start T even though I am a minor and have even gotten my name legally changed.