Dear Caitlyn,
Over the past couple of weeks, there's been a lot of media scrutiny about your life and recent transformation. For a long time, I attempted to ignore the news and close my eyes to your story.I was convinced that this topic was too foreign to me to be relevant—just a tabloid reporter's dream that in no way, shape or form affected me.
But time has a way of changing a person's perspective. It wasn't long before I stopped viewing this entire situation as a publicity stunt and began considering it a personal journey towards identity that each of us can relate to on some level. At the end of the day, each of us turns out to be human and eventually we all wind up trying to find out who we are.
After empathizing with your situation, I now realize that you have spent 65 years of your life feeling uncomfortable in your own skin and isolated from the individual you felt that you were meant to be. No one should ever have to face that kind dissatisfaction with themselves and I have sound reason to admire you for doing what you did. You simply want to become closer to who you believe you are, so that you can become closer to those that you care about the most. Too many people look at a situation like this in terms of black and white, right and wrong, moral and immoral. But isn't life a gray area? Human beings are complicated creatures, and not even we can ever fully understand our own nature.
Lately, a lot of people have been saying that your actions reflect bravery and heroism and I can see how this proves true. Although your struggles aren't the same as what society considers brave, there are many different forms of bravery to be commended. Your courage, as well as the courage of anyone else who openly admits who they are in the face of vulnerability, deserves to be recognized for what it's worth. I mean, weren't we always taught to not only be ourselves, but also to love ourselves for who we are? Now I understand that you are attempting just that and in a way that challenges others.
Although I questioned your transformation, I wish you well in what you seek; to identify with the person you are on the inside. You have challenged me to see beyond someone's gender and outward appearance and look at the core of who they are. The world is a changing and complex place, and it takes just as much to be a strong woman in our society as it does to be a strong man.
Good luck with your journey.
