"It's always amazing when you can be yourself no matter how hard it gets." -Landon Arnett
I met Landon when he was better known as "Landry" back at Camp Guy, a camp for the Boys and Girls Club, a couple of years ago when I was a counselor in training. He was a happy-seeming kid with long ginger hair and a laugh that could be heard for miles and a smile that was definitely unmistakable. I was later friended by the kid on Facebook and got nothing but Farmville requests for what seemed like forever.
Flash forward a couple of years and I'm scrolling on Facebook like, "Landon Arnett? Who's that? Let's see, carrot top hair and that smile! Oh my god!"
I checked my old Farmville and sure enough, some of the old requests were still there. I asked to be sure and, yep, same old kid. It's safe to say Landon is the first transgender person I have ever seen transition and, even from a bystander's point of view, it has not been easy.
"Well, in seventh grade I thought I was bi so I came out then, but it didn't fit fully so when I finally realized what I was, which is transgender, I told my mom in the middle of eighth grade," Landon told me.
His mother, Bernice Arnett, disclosed what it was like when Landon came out.
"When Landry came out to us, we were a bit taken back. It was just a month earlier that she tried wearing make up and had been talking about boys. We questioned her about this and she said that she was just trying to please us. We questioned whether she was 100 percent sure of the meaning of 'transgender.' We even thought she might be lesbian or bisexual. We never put Landry down. The hardest part about the process has been Landry wanting to be called Landon. It made us feel as if she was trying to run from herself. Landry can be a male name as well. We have 16 years of saying Landry... It is a big adjustment with a lot of slip ups. It's ironic that the name change is harder on us than the sexual orientation. I, as any mother, had dreams and wishes. I anticipated makeup, dances, boyfriends, prom, wedding and grandbabies. It is sad that I won't get to experience those mother-daughter things, but at the same time I still get to experience them as a mother and son. I just want Landon to be happy, successful, and outgoing. I want Landon to be Landon, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."
Landon, now 15 years old, tried to convince his mom to officially changing his name to Landon Ezekiel Arnett for about a year. His mom said, "Two million likes and you pay."
This is the photo that needed to go viral, initially, for the change. She also suggested getting Ellen DeGeneres in order for it to go viral and reach the goal. They even had a hashtag going (#EllenForLandon).
"Because the comments of other trans people persuaded her to change her mind," Landon no longer needed the two million in order to change his name legally. The final count was over 16,000 and the post has since been made private, due to Landon no longer needing it to go viral in order to get his name changed.
Landon stated that he decided on his new name because it's what he would have been named if he had been born biologically male and it's a male version of his birth name, "Landry."
Recently, there has been brought to light in the media more hostility towards trans people, such as the issues with bathrooms and Caitlyn Jenner recently being named "Woman of the Year," and sadly, Landon has been a victim.
He posted about his transition to the Lizzy the Lezzy Facebook page in October 2015, and while the response was overwhelmingly positive, there are always those people who try to turn the inspiration into hate.
From people who trash on his inspirational posts to choir directors that force him to wear dresses for concerts to bullies in the everyday world, it has not been easy dealing with people who don't understand and don't want to understand.
"I am a firm believer that each individual has the right to be who they are/what they want to be and to be able to express themselves," Bernice says.
"With that being said, I find myself becoming more defensive. I will stand up to anyone when it comes to my family. I see all of these bathroom posts about transgenders and it truly breaks my heart, sometimes I get so upset that I could just cry. I am always nervous when I drop Landon off at places on his own. I am afraid that he will get picked on, beat up, or even worse... People see things differently when it actually involves their family, and that is wrong because that lesbian is someone's child, that bisexual person is someone's child, that gay person is someone's child and that transgender person over there is someone's child. Never hate, educate."
Bernice also points out that "People say that transgender is only about that person, but in reality, it affects everyone who knows them." This can definitely be found true with Landon. Everywhere on his various social media sites, you see that not only in who he lives with everyday but even with people across the nation.
To check out more about Landon and his story, you can follow him on YouTube and Instagram, where he posts his photography and artwork.
