Tell your trans friends and family you support them today.

More importantly, tell them no matter what happens, you're going to support them tomorrow, too. And every day after.

It's not your fault.

You didn't need to tell anyone the secret passphrase.

And yet, you whispered that passphrase with every breath you used to express your wants, desires, and dreams, and with every action they taught you to shame.

It doesn't matter what you knew. It doesn't matter what you said or didn't say.

You didn't have the opportunity to understand the rules beyond those which punish you.

You didn't have the opportunity to speak.

You didn't have the opportunity to be understood.

You did not create the rules. You did not do anything wrong.

You were a child.

It's not your fault.

And it's okay to say that it was theirs. Even if you love them, even if they're wonderful now, it's okay to say it was theirs. That's their burden to reckon with, not yours.

You were a child.

It's not, and has never been, your fault.

7/7

"I didn't tell anyone I was a girl."

Neither did the cis girls. They got to play with the toys and wear the clothes that felt best. They could *expect* these things without even asking let alone fear of rejection or shame. They got to have friends that shared common understanding. They got to do the girl things. And not once has anyone said to them, "but you didn't tell us when you were young, how could we have known you were a girl?"

You shouldn't have had to tell them. It should have been enough that you could be allowed to have and do the things that felt most you.

It should have been possible to *expect* these things.

1/