You’re obviously in a lot of pain and everyone in this forum has been there. We’re with you. But it’s important to remember that no one is saying you can just go out there, decide not to care, and the problem is solved. What we’re talking about is years, decades, of hard work. Lots and lots of ups and downs. You have to commit to a lifetime of work at self-acceptance. It still sucks sometimes. You get up and go again. Yeah, be angry. But direct that anger at anyone who says you can’t use your voice just because your genes lined up the wrong way. What changed everything for me was when a visiting judge told me—in front of my whole law school class—that I should drop out. I decided to show him. And I did. It’s still hard sometimes. But I will never let that jerk win. It’s like the quote from Shawshank Redemption: you either get busy living or you get busy dying. Anyone who tells you not to live—not to use your voice—can go to hell. What you have to say is worth waiting for.