But I cannot say that I was “born this way,” because I was born this way and many others. I dare not argue that my gender is valid because is has always been this way, because I know that I will likely continue to transform in the future. So, I say this: growing up, I was queer at some times, a boy at others, and oftentimes a girl. Always, I did not know what I was becoming.

Read the rest of my essay here, published as a part of the “Pride” issue of Chicago Literati.

Image credits: Pierre EmD and NASA