Transgender in Tennessee: Lauren Croney's story

Lauren Croney, a 24-year-old woman from Murfreesboro, recently transitioned after an adolescence where she never thought strongly about her gender. This is her first-person account.

I am now 24 years old, and I only began my transition at age 23 — I definitely still have a ways to go.

In the media, I hear a lot of stories from other transgender people who talk about how they knew ever since they could first remember, but I'd rather be honest and say that while I had a lot of girly qualities when I was a young kid — my best friend was a neighbor girl, and I like playing with girls' toys — I never really though strongly about gender until my teenage years, when puberty made me realize how much being male wasn't for me.

I had bouts of gender dysphoria sporadically, but it didn't really come to a head until shortly after I turned 23 and I could no longer ignore it. I still have a lot to deal with — my self-image isn't always great, I don't always feel pretty, and I have had a hard time finding employment, which really may or may not have anything to do with being trans, honestly.

But on a basic level, I am far more happy with who I am and there is definitely something that feels right about being who I want to be and having the correct set of hormones in my body.

I have to say I've been very lucky to have amazing and supportive parents, which all too many transgender people, especially in the South, do not get to have. In fact, I have been floored by how supportive essentially everyone I know has been.

I hope I can help a few more people understand people like me, and hopefully one day transgender people in this country won't have to worry about acceptance the way we still do.