I wrote my first "Coming Out" letter in March of 2018. It wasn't until August of 2018 did I choose the name Ian. Biologically, my name is Erin. I changed the "E" to an "A" to break away from the name Erin without completely leaving my past identity behind. When I was Erin, my pronouns were she/her/hers, but when I was Arin they were they/them/theirs. However, after months of identifying under the name Arin, I realized I was no longer the person identifying with the name "Arin" as it still reminded me of associations under the name Erin.

Unlike other individuals, I loved my biological name and I still do. I have a hard time correcting individuals when I am called my biological name because I still have an attachment to it and if asked what it was, I will state it. I don't know how I will break completely away from my biological name, but I do hope patience along with testosterone will help. I broke away from the name due to the femininized look, feel, and acts I had while identifying with the pronouns she/her/hers. Although I changed one letter in my name when first "coming out", I felt like Erin no matter how it was spelled and that was someone I no longer had a connection with.