Charlie Prout is 22-year-old student who has been given many labels in his life. He knows better than most that no one size fits all. Despite a difficult childhood, he now he wears each of these labels with pride.

I grew up in Moera, Lower Hutt. I loved documentaries about crime and evolution, and even then was deeply opinionated and strong willed.

For me being a teenager wasn't easy. I had many feelings I didn't know how to deal with and this translated into me become very angry and frustrated with my life.

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I didn't fit in at high school. Then when I came out as queer I was bullied; the kids would call me "poofter Prout". I was literally bashed over the head once with a Bible.

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This article was supplied as part of Stuff's partnership with Unicef NZ.

In general, being queer is still seen as a spectacle. You become the "other". The media still portray queer people as something to be gawked at. When I came out as bi, people told me that I was greedy and selfish.

When I was 14 I realised I was transgender, but at that stage didn't know how to find the support I needed. There isn't much visibility around transmen in the media — you can't become what you can't see. If you're a kid and start feeling uneasy about your gender identity and sex, but don't see representations of anyone like you, you feel stuck.

For kids that suffer from gender dysphoria, knowing that there is a way through it is important. You're not broken and you're not wrong. It doesn't define you — you're just part of the diversity in the world.

When I told my best friend from high school he said, "Yeah, this makes sense. Your life is going to be so much easier as a guy". This reinforced that this was the right direction for me because a support system is so important when one transitions.

My body didn't feel like it was my own. I finally had the guts to talk to a GP when I was 17 but he had never treated someone like me before. An adolescent psychologist had no concept of what to do either.

There are so many pressures on trans people because they can't transition and the dysphoria they feel is overwhelming.

When I first put on a binder (a chest compression vest), my body began to reflect who I was. Without binders though, people use tape, gladwrap, all sorts of things to compress their chest. This leads to some young trans people breaking ribs and causing permanent damage.

There is a myth within the transgender community which needs to be quashed. You don't need to be on hormones in order to be trans. Some people take them but not everyone. There's not one trans pathway and there need to be policies for trans people that recognise this diversity and choice.

If someone only wants to undergo one part of transitioning, or doesn't want to medically transition, that doesn't make them any less trans.

Children shouldn't necessarily have surgery but they should have access to hormone blockers and support. Schools need support to understand trans students too.

I recently helped a 16 year old who was worried he was going to be kicked out of home. The school didn't know how to handle the situation, but Evolve (a Youth One Stop Shop) did. I wouldn't be in the position I am now without my nurse Dorianne. She believed in me and fought for me. The ongoing mental health support was invaluable.

We need a better health system for trans people and from a rights-based point of view, people deserve the bodies they want.

In our society, I would be proud if we could give basic healthcare to trans people. Transgender youth need to know that there is nothing wrong with being diverse or a little bit different.

As told to UNICEF New Zealand. UNICEF New Zealand stands for every child so they can have a childhood.