All I’ve ever needed was to be seen. To be recognised as the person I am. To have my name used in sentences, my pronouns used to refer to me. I just wanted to exist like everyone else. No one tells you how difficult that can be. When I realised that some people just didn’t want me to exist I thought long and hard about just giving up and presenting as who they wanted me to be. I had never been so close to giving up, and yet I managed to keep fighting. Here I am with a full time job where everyone calls me by my name, I even have it on a name tag. A group of friends who refer to me by my pronouns. I’ve never felt more alive, I’ve never felt like I existed before but now I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.