“Patience is a virtue.” I utter this phrase to my son at least 4 to 5 times a week. Patience is something that I know a lot about. At this time, 5 years ago, my son and I were homeless. He was getting ready to start Kindergarten in the fall and we had no place to live. I was working 7 days a week at 2 jobs and each time I applied for an apartment they told me, “You need to make more money.” I remember the day my patience broke. My son and I were sitting in the motel room I had rented, it was cold and raining and he snuggled up under my arm and told me it was fun living in a motel. But it … [Read more...]

I’m here today only because others have been by my side. The greatest indebtedness I hold in my heart is to the teachers who always went beyond the call of duty to support me outside of the classroom. By extending a helping hand during dark times, and encouraging my growth, they helped me to remember a purpose, and to forge my own path. I’m also grateful to the transgender clinic at Cincinnati Children’s for its dedication to service, providing the resources necessary for me to heal and be myself. Last but not least, I’m grateful to my family and friends for being there for me every step of … [Read more...]

Since the age of 4, I have always known I was living in the wrong body. By the age of 5, I communicated to my mother that I was a boy and needed a sex change. My family was ultra conservative, and I never fit the image that I thought I had to be. Growing up, I went through a lot of depression and suicidal ideation. I was not ready to face society and come out as transgender. I learned to medicate how I felt with drugs and alcohol. I spent the next 24 years identifying as a lesbian. I had girlfriends and even married a woman in 2008 in Canada. I got sober in 2003 to open my own substance abuse … [Read more...]

I was worried about my legal name change for a bit. I worried that my name might be “too weird,” and that I should go for something more traditional. Sure, my name is Bridge, but maybe it should be something else for formal documents? As the two of them saw me fretting over my decision, one of my partners pulled me close and told me, “You’re the Bridge that brings people together—the Bridge that shows friends and loved ones where they need to go and how to get there.” Suddenly, I was calm. And I knew I was doing the right thing.  There’s only one Bridge Rousseuax St. Germain, and that … [Read more...]

Up to this day, Alanna has lived her whole life in Kentucky, with limited resources and connections to the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, she did not know she was a part of the community until about 2006; which is when she experienced puberty. She always had a natural discomfort and sadness to her personality, but could never pin-point the source until puberty. Her puberty experience felt like her body was betraying her by changing her body in all of the wrong ways. Even though this was a miserable experience, it at least helped identify the root cause of the negative emotions. Alanna overcame … [Read more...]