Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Hi everyone! This video is going to be about my past, such as my childhood and teenage years, how things were for me in middle and high school, and the struggle I had with my gender identity and becoming my true self, through the mental disorders and trauma. This is a very lengthily life story, but is divided into sections you can access by looking in the description. So, thank you to anyone in advanced who watches the entire thing. I apologize if I am smiling at any of this because this is not anything to smile about. As a general warning, this video could be triggering to some individuals since it includes references of trauma, abandonment, abuse, and bullying, among other things. So please watch with caution. My childhood is very difficult for me to talk about, and is also something I really don't remember because it was so traumatic I blocked most of it out. There is only a small amount I remember, some good, some bad. So, a lot of the information provided here was given to me by my family that knows about my past. Of course, these people don't know everything that happened to me and I suspect a lot is being intentionally hidden from me as well. So, ever since I was a child I was severely abused. Physical abuse, I was hit, kicked, slapped around, anything you could imagine. Not just by one person, but by multiple people. I remember being suffocated at one point. One thing that was told to me was that at some point I was tied up to a chair by someone I didn't know because I was out of control. I don't know how long or if anything else happened, but it sounds like a terrifying moment for a child. Emotional abuse, I was called names, but more seriously, I was abandoned by so many people. I'll get to that in a minute. Sexual abuse, it wouldn't surprise me if things were done to me. But, there are also things that I have done that I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I cannot go back and change my past, and if I did, I wouldn't be the same person I am today. I had nowhere to escape, I was trapped. The only release I got was when I went to my grandparent's. They were always nice to me and never neglected me. That was the one place I felt safe and could have attention. If it wasn't for them, I don't know where I would be today. Regarding abandonment, I was neglected by most people. My mother never paid much of any attention, plus I never had a father that was actively in the picture. I did see him a very few times, but I don't know what we did, if anything. Shortly thereafter, someone else from that side of the family started spending time with me, and we became very close. We would go on adventures and I really had a lot of fun. She was there for me during the times I couldn't be with my grandparents. One day she was supposed to come pick me up, but she never showed up. People tried to get ahold of her, but there was no response. I thought she died. There are a lot of mental problems that run in my family, especially on that side, my father's side, so perhaps that is why they left me, and perhaps where I got some of the issues I have today. I don't know that side of the family, so I don't know the extent of the mental issues that run there. I was a very violent and angry child. I've taken my anger out in ways that were unacceptable. It was only over the past few years that I have been able to find a better outlet. One thing I did was constantly break by prescription glasses when I would get angry. Another thing was slam my head against things. There was one point, which I don't remember, where I threatened to kill my mother with a screwdriver for what she had done to me. She was terrified out of her mind and thought I would kill her when she was asleep. When I turned five my sister was born. I always wanted to be the only child, and get the attention I deserved, and now with my sister, any kind of attention that could've been became non-existent. I hated my sister for being born and supposedly I hurt her. I was also signed up for lots of activities. Music, swimming, anything else. And, I hated it. If it was learning to play musical instruments, I would hide the instrument so I could get out of doing it. I hated being around other children, and just wanted to be alone in my room. I was most of the time anyway. So, I usually just played video games by myself. Back then, I remember thinking about death a lot, but it didn't scare me. I remember thinking about ways I could die and it fascinated me. I had a wooden bunk bed in my room, even though I was the only one that slept in there. But, I remember kicking and pushing as hard as I could with my legs to try and get the top bunk to fall on top of me in hopes that it would kill me. I remember splitting my arm open somehow about an inch when jump on my bed I believe. I don't know if that's what happened or just what I was supposed to believe, or if it even was an accident. I still have the scar today. I remember this one delusion, where I thought there was a girl my age that lived across the street from where my room was. I don't think I could see her at all, but I thought a girl lived there and thought she was my girlfriend. She monitored everything I did in my room, never judged and was nice. I don't know if I ever talked to her, nor do I know if she talked to me, perhaps we did. But, I knew she was there always watching me. I felt I was watched by a lot of things, especially in space, but I was not scared or paranoid of it. Regarding my gender identity, I believe I faintly remember going into my mother's room and looking at her clothing and shoes, wanting to try them on, perhaps even trying on the shoes. I don't know. I remember I hated having a penis. I remember so many times having scissors down there about ready to cut it off. Of course, I never did it, wouldn't have been able to get surgery otherwise. But, I do clearly remember being on the verge of getting rid of it because I didn't like it. Or perhaps that was also another thought of death I had. I also remember in school someone asked me if I had a penis, and I said, "No, it got cut off." I denied it because I hated it. What I also remember is when my mother was watching some movie about men that cross-dressed and were living like women. I remember thinking in my head, that is what I'm going to do when I get older. As far as school goes, I was very shy and never really talked with anyone. I didn't really have many friends, but the ones I did have I had a lot of fun with. Though, I was made fun of and bullied. Additionally, I also had a speech impediment and couldn't say certain letters correctly, so I had to take speech therapy. I remember I was so scared of using the bathroom in school that I held it all day long. This even continued through high school. Though, when I was younger it was quite difficult holding it for that long and I had some accidents that I'm not proud of. The reason why I hated bathrooms, I don't know. Perhaps it was related to my body, or some abuse I don't remember, or a combination of the two. I don't have a clue. By the time I turned 10, I had moved in full time with my grandparents and still live there today. I was luckily able to get away from the abuse and live in a comforting household. Though, my problems were only starting to begin. Around age 11 and 12, it was around the time I started to hit puberty. Things drastically turned bad in my life on so many levels. Going through puberty is extremely difficult for any transgender individual. Your body is changing in the opposite way you would like and it is a terrifying experience. I hated the fact that I was getting a deeper voice, facial and body hair, and other things. The hatred I had towards myself was astronomical. I would look in the mirror and say, "I hate you, you ugly slob." And I would cry so badly when I saw any kind of picture of myself. I didn't get why people thought I was good looking, because I didn't see it. Something else that became very troubling was that my thought process became very distorted. Unexpectedly out of nowhere, I started to become very paranoid of people, thinking they were watching me, reading my thoughts at all times. When they would look at me, they would know instantly what I was thinking. Every time I would think something, it was broadcast outside my head for the whole world to hear. This was very different from how I was prior. I was doing fine, no paranoia, no delusions, I trusted people, and invited them to birthday parties and would go to theirs willingly, but I was usually held back by shyness, that's it. But after my thoughts changed, I was so paranoid of them, thinking they would hurt me and do me harm. On top of that, I slowly lost all interest in human interaction. I just wanted to be alone, and I was. I stayed in my room, avoided people, stopped talking with people, including my family. Of course some of this was due to my depressed about my gender identity. Whenever I would talk to my grandmother, I would sit behind a corner so she couldn't see me. Or, I would put something in the way so she couldn't look at me. I hated being looked at, because I felt ugly, but also that other people were reading my mind. These things started to become more and more severe. It got to the point where I put black construction paper on my window to, one block out the sun, and block out anyone who was watching me in my room. I spent most of my time alone in my room, away from even my family. I was terrified every second I had to leave my room because I thought someone would break in and go through my things. Whenever I would take a shower, I thought my grandmother would go up there and root around. This continued until after I finished high school. So much to the point where I had to lock my door and put a piece of paper under it to see if anyone broke in. But, I also believed that people knew I did this and would put it back the way I had it after they broken in. I remember