NATE
UTAH | SERIES 2
Imagine that every gender is a box. Some people believe that there are only two boxes, but there are actually thousands. I have jumped from box to box to box, never finding one that fits just right, and decided boxes just aren’t for me. I am human. I am Nate.
Don't let people force you into a box or a choice or a motto. Have multiple. All or none. A few or just one. And do it with dignity.
“Do it with dignity.” That’s my dad’s motto. When he was little, he had to wake up at 4 a.m. to go on a hike. “Why do we walk up a mountain just to walk down again?” He would ask. But he decided that since his parents were going to make him do it anyway, there was no point in whining about it. If he was going to do it, he was going to do it with dignity.
I have many mottos. Fake it ‘til you make it. Bullshit your way through life. Every step you take is a step you don’t have to take anymore.
All of them resonate with me. Each of them I call my own. This is a philosophy I use in life: don’t go through and pick everything that defines you and think it's what you have to be forever. Have multiple mottos. Multiple mantras. This philosophy works the same way with genders.
In January 2016, I was convinced that I was transgender. I can go back to the exact journal entry where I would complain about my parents and how they would never believe me (of course that wasn’t true).
In the summer of 2016, I decided on the term genderfluid. In fall of 2016, I decided on androgynous. I switched up titles so many times, I have friends who use every pronoun imaginable to describe me. Some of my friends skip pronouns altogether and just say “Nate wants Nate’s ____.” Soon I realized that I don't need to make a decision.
Imagine that every gender is a box.
Some people believe that there are only two boxes, but there are actually thousands. Now, what most people will do is they will either stay in the box they were born in or they will jump into a box that fits them better.
I have jumped from box to box to box never finding one that fits just right, and decided boxes just aren’t for me. I’ll spend my days walking around the boxes, never actually getting in any, but waving to the others as I pass by. If you ask me my gender, I will tell you I don't know, and I don't plan on finding out any time soon. I am human. I am Nate.
So don't let people force you into a box or a choice or a motto. Have multiple. All or none. A few or just one. And do it with dignity.
