“Could I buy those gender change pills?” That’s what I wrote and put in the anonymous questions box in Year 6 drug education. This was after the teacher offhandedly mentioned that illicit drugs could be laced with a variety of harmful side-effects, including changing your gender.

At the time, I had no clue that the word for what I was experiencing was gender dysphoria, a feeling of distress when your body doesn’t align with your gender identity.

This was the start of my journey to coming out to myself at 15 years old, later to my friends and family, and ultimately to everyone I know.

Milla’s Journey: The story of a transgender child. Post continues after video.

After the anonymous question box in Year 6, it took me three years to talk to anyone. I couldn’t accept who I was and instead surrounded myself with proof that I didn’t exist. I found articles saying transgender and gender diverse people are a scourge upon the earth, read forums filled with people claiming trans people are invading women’s spaces and would also express my own casual transphobia. Hatred was an easier pill for me to swallow than admitting to myself that I am different.

Eventually, I stopped falling victim to this and came out to myself in early Year 9. About a year later, I came out to my mum, explaining it to her after dinner. Her knee-jerk response was to ask, “Are you going to start wearing frocks now?” It was unsettling at first, but after doing some research, my mum became the most supportive person in my life.