If I knew then what I know now

Published about 9 hours ago • 1 min read

This week, I participated in the Stand with Trans event, Trans Empowerment Month, and spoke in a fireside chat format on "Raising Voices: Parents, Advocacy & the Fight for Trans Youth in the South."

One of the questions they asked me was, "When you look back at yourself as a parent at the beginning of this journey, what would you tell that version of yourself?"

I thought I'd share my answer with you:

You will learn so much from your kids.

You will be stronger than you ever thought you could be.

You will spend so much time testifying at the Texas Capitol that you earn free coffees at the cafeteria.

Be open to learning and to thinking about the world in a different way – that change will be hard, but it will open up beautiful possibilities.

What would you tell an older version of yourself?

Mandy Giles (she/her)
Founder and CEO
Parents of Trans Youth

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Parents of Trans Youth provides learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive kids.

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