This letter is for a person who couldn't appreciate who I am and who I will be. I do not hold it against you. It's hard to be mad at the people we love sometimes. I'm sure this is hard for you too and I'm trying to work my head around it.

Sometimes change can affect an entire life. It affected mine. I am now someone who lives with more confidence and peace of mind. The journey has been long...and sometimes it was dark and dreary. I spent a lot of nights alone with a whole group of people who were waiting outside my door to love me no matter who I am. Once I accepted who I was and became proud of the body I was in, everything else fell into place. It was a hurdle I had to attempt to jump a thousand times.

My life has become a new adventure and I am more motivated to experience what I can. I've surrounded myself with the most love I could find. I wish you could feel the warmth I do from the people in your life. I wish you could understand that I am the same no matter what my name is, or what pronoun I use. I wish you could open your mind along with your heart, but I don't think wishing is going to get us anywhere.

It's been different not having you around. It's a feeling of disappointment mixed with relief. There are a lot of things that you are that are a part of me now. I can feel your absence the most when I catch myself doing them.

I would like to leave you with a message from me to you:

You are always welcomed into my life. I will always accept your love and I hope that you can grow to understand that I will always have a place for you here.

I will keep the happy memories of you and me and hope we can make many more in a future that includes the love and acceptance that is meant for everyone. Maybe we can go back to being who we were when we were young. I miss the nights spent laughing and listening to the water underneath us.

Until then, I hope that you are as happy and loved as I am now by the people who did accept me.