Whilst making my Medium account to slowly move myself to different writing platforms, I realized that the internet gods made my account already for me. As I was re-formatting my bio and social links, I came across my follower count. As I scrolled through the names, some were more familiar than others but one person made me ultimately embarrassingly fan-girl—Jade Sylvan followed me. Perhaps they didn't take notice to it, maybe it was just a simple follow-back, but nonetheless my heart fluttered just a little bit of a damn lot. They are my favorite artist to date, and seeing their name made me look back to when I first met them.

Circa 2014: I made my way to my first reading at Frequency North. I was too nervous for my own good, especially because I felt like I was sneaking into a Q&A before the reading. I was on a mission for an assignment and desperately needed more writing material. I made my way to the obscure classroom on the third floor of Albertus Hall and entered the session ten minutes late. I was surrounded by graduate students and here I was, a lone freshman, acting like I belonged with the cool kids. Maybe the sheer panic inside me wasn't showing through because no one else seemed to notice, even when I plopped myself in the seat directly in front of Jade. I wrote down every question and answer verbatim, kept myself as close to invisible as I possibly could in an environment I really seemed to have crashed. After the session, I bought their book that they were touring at the time, "Kissing Oscar Wilde," and they signed "I like your gender," on the front cover page. This was oddly comforting.

After the reading, I was properly enamored— so I read the memoir front to back that night. I read the memoir like it was my damn job, flipping page by page, heavily annotating and underlining parts that made me feel better about myself, made me understand myself. Although this wasn't my story, there was something that resonated back to me with grace and clarity. I look back at this moment now and see this was the first time I reflected on my understanding of what love was, what it could be, and what I might have wanted but ignored my whole life. With my roommate sleeping soundly in the bed over, here I was contemplating every feeling I ever swallowed. I tucked the memoir under my pillow, shut off my reading lamp beside me, and closed my eyes to this newfound existential crisis.

I write memoirs now. I write confessional poetry. I shine a spotlight on every vulnerability I have and showcase it in my writing. I write from my heart, even when my hands shake, and even when my head is telling me, "Don't you dare." My pen, my fingers: they don't stop and turn back like they used to. I search for truth in myself and in others to write about. When your writing reflects who you are as person, you can breathe a little easier. You are able to doubt yourself even a smidge less. But enough about me.

Who is Jade? Jade, according to the Boston Globe, is a "risque queer icon." They are an award-winning author, poet, screenwriter, producer and performing artist who is nestled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jade co-wrote and starred in Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein’s first feature-film TEN, and was commissioned to write the official novelization of the film. They wrote and produced the recently performed "Spider Cult the Musical" at Oberon Theatre. (I did follow the progression of thismusical since the wee beginnings and was sincerely disappointed that I couldn't make it to the showing.) They also have numerous pieces published in The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, The Toast, PANK, and others. 

Alongside being a phenomenal writer, spoken word poet, and screenwriter—they are also a sincerely genuine person. For example, they have an Etsy shop called ProudOfYouCards which was founded on the premise that they were not able to find greeting cards for their friends and family during times of transition. With their dismay, they created their own cards to celebrate gender transitions for transmen, transwomen, and non-binary people. They are graciously outspoken about what truly matters and are not afraid to be speak out about injustice. You don't always come across an artist nowadays that does just that unapologetically and I would suggest making sure your faves do. I'd also recommend following them on Facebook to read their enlightening posts. Also, watching their killer spoken word poem on the third-person singular.

So, I want to thank you, Jade, for sincerely making me a better writer, person, and giving a part of me that still isn't in the public eye just yet, but is in my heart, a chance and reason to fly. I hope to cross paths with you again some day, but for now Facebook will suffice. Cheers!