Updated on: February 27, 2018

Bullying. Whether it be verbally or physically, student’s across America face the struggle of being a victim everyday. But student’s who are part of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) are at an even higher risk of being targeted in a school setting.

“In high school, there were some students who made very inappropriate comments to me. Some students who I had never talked to before asked me very personal questions that were really offensive,” Jake, Class of 2012, said.

During the second half of his sophomore year, Jake came out as a transgender. Though he was scared of people’s reactions at first, his family and friends were able to help him through his transition. “Before I came out, I was a little worried about how people would react. But I was not going to let that fear stop me from transitioning because my first priority was to be happy… It was definitely my close group of friends who stood by my side and helped me to open up the most, along with my parents, sister, and other family members who made it clear that they supported me no matter what,” Jake said.

Once he was able to be open about his gender, Jake said he became much more confident and proud of himself, but there was stress that was added on as well.

“At times, there was stress added onto my transition because of the intolerance of some fellow students. I was worried that they would not use the correct name and/or pronouns when referring to me, but that did not happen as much as I thought. I was also worried about my physical safety, but the support I had from faculty members, especially my counselor, really took a lot of that stress away from me,” Jake said.

Jake dealt with people who were unaccepting in high school, he learned a lot about how to handle other disrespectful people in the future.

“I learned that for me, the best way to respond was by asking them why they were so interested to know personal details about me, as well as asking them why they think it is acceptable to disrespect me like that. I have found that it is best to show strength and pride in my identity when dealing with intolerant people,” Jake said.

Though there were down points for Jake in high school, he believes college is a whole different experience for him.

“Being a college student has really been different for me than being a high school student, mainly because people I meet in college do not know I am transgender. In high school, I expected that everyone would know because I made the transition during high school… I am not defined as transgender here in college, while in high school, I felt that was all I was to people,” Jake said.

In response to his experience in college, Jake reflects on his high school career.  For kids who are afraid to show their gender identity in high school, he offers his advice on how to handle it.

“I think the best advice I can give to students who are afraid to show their gender identity in high school is to be true to yourself, because the opinions of other students should not affect the way that you feel about yourself,” Jake said. “If you are able to find strength in your identity and be proud of who you are, then you have the ability to overcome so much prejudice and discrimination.”