u/SirMrSkellyBones

I’m a rising junior and have a summer assignment for English. I am currently doing a summer program 40 hours/week that ends on July 31, and school starts August 20. In August, I will be getting my drivers permit, prepare more for the PSAT, do an entrance exam for college credit, and get all of my appointments done (eye and orthodontic)

Anyways! Summer assignment:

-Read The Scarlet Letter

-Write and argumentative essay about whether it should be taught in schools

-3 body paragraphs, each paragraph has 4 pieces of evidence; 2 from the book and 2 from external, peer reviewed articles. 1st paragraph focuses on character, 2nd focused on theme, and 3rd is my choice (I’m planning conflict).

With how I write, I expect the word count to be about 2500-3000 words give or take. This is overall better than the last summer assignment (I was limited to 600 words and it was hell for me to write and I had to make a blog post? It was awful. I had to write about the role of masculinity and gender roles in A Doll’s House and was limited to 600 words for a complex societal issue).

I’m also super opinionated and believe in almost total freedom when it comes to teaching literature in a high school setting. Exceptions would be things way above grade level/super abstract works that would be difficult for students to understand or enjoy, or just straight up adult content. Most works of literature have value when teaching high school, and that freedom should especially expand in junior and senior year as we are transitioning into the adult world. I have not read the book yet, only a brief summary, so I’ll construct my argument as I am reading.

I plan to read the book during my commute to and from the program (total of 2-3 hours per day) starting next week. Do I have enough time to write a decent essay? A month should be enough right? English is the hardest subject for me, so I’m starting to get a bit anxious.

I (16m) have an amazing opportunity to work in a lab for the summer and it’s absolutely incredible. I was doing cell passaging when all of a sudden I felt the urge to pee. During that time, I was trypsinizing the cells and I knew that if I left the trypsin for too long, the cells would die. I knew it wouldn’t take long to save the cells, and planned to go to the bathroom as soon as I put them in the centrifuge. So, I got the cells out, neutralized the reaction, suspended the cells and put them into the centrifuge. Right when I put the vial in, I felt this trickle down my leg and I couldn’t stop it. I starting panicking and tried to get out, but it just happened so I stood there, pants completely soaked to the brim. In the cell culture room, where everything has to be as sterile as possible. I guess I did make my goal of going to the bathroom as soon as I got the cells into the centrifuge, just in the worst way possible.

I came out of the room almost crying and I told my mentor what happened. He reassured me that it was okay, and he would finish the cell passaging and clean up the mess while I changed. I go to the gym every morning, so thank goodness I had a dry pair of shorts and underwear (that smell of sweat, but better than pee). I changed and put the piss soaked pants, underwear, and socks in the plastic bag, wrapped it in my towel, put it in my backpack and headed out.

I am currently writing this as I am waiting for the bus to go home while tears stream down my face. My bag smells of pee and my shoes are still soaked. At least I don’t stink of cigarettes and weed like half the people here. I missed the transfer because of traffic so I have time to kill.

My mentor said that tomorrow we will talk about taking breaks and not neglecting myself. I sometimes skip lunch to get more work done and rarely take breaks. Most days I don’t take any breaks, but that’s what I’m used to because of school (Zero breaks there. Even during lunch I do schoolwork just to get it done. I can’t afford to go to the bathroom at school either, so I might have bladder issues due to holding it in nearly every day). I guess a couple years of entirely neglecting every physical signal I have will really mess with things, and I have to learn that the hard way.

At least my mentor is super caring and understanding. He knows how hard I work and how dedicated I am, and I’m so glad he doesn’t see me any differently. And nobody else was in the lab at this time, so he was the only other one there. Worst day of the summer thus far, I hope that remains true.

I’m 5’3” (160cm) and work in a lab with mostly short people and it’s amazing! Since most people are around my height, it makes for an amazing environment because it’s adjusted for short people.

Step ladders? EVERYWHERE. And it’s not weird if you use one because everyone uses the ladders and stools regularly (things aren’t super high up, either, it’s just that most people there need them). There are always enough small and medium sized gloves to wear which is a blessing after being forced to use large gloves previously because they didn’t restock small gloves often. The chairs are usually adjusted to where I can comfortably work before I sit down. I don’t feel out of place, either! I feel like I can talk peer-to-peer as an equal just because I don’t have to look up at all to see someone’s face. My height matters less in other’s perception of me, and I feel like I’m finally taken seriously. Honestly, being a short dude isn’t so bad once I’m surrounded by mostly short people (including other short dudes). It makes it so I’m more around average/slightly shorter height compared to the group. Anything above 5’8” is considered pretty tall, and most fall between 5’2”-5’6”.

I’m also lucky to work with amazing, kind, and intelligent people, no matter their height. The tall people there are also super nice, the group just skews shorter so the environment is adjusted for that. I never knew what it was like to be “default” height and man, it is nice.

I’m a trans teen (16) and am currently in the fight to get access to testosterone. During this process, it’s become so clear to me how cis teens my age and cis kids younger than me are way more valued and trusted than I am.

There’s this fear that a cis kid would get access to medical transition and feel deep bodily trauma and regret. As if that is not what trans kids face all the time due to our natal puberty. I’d argue, with the rate of trans people, that there is a higher regret rate for puberty than there is for transitioning.

We’re allowed to be traumatized and debated about and have our lives stripped from us, but the same situation would be considered torture for a cis person. It’s normality for us.

If a cis boy, say, were subjected to estrogen at age 9 against his will and forced to stay like that until 18, that would be considered medical mistreatment and severe abuse. In fact, something similar did happen to David Reimer and people were horrified (and it is horrifying). Except he was lucky compared to many trans people, just extremely unlucky for a cis person. When I went through the exact same thing and had the same mental reaction to how a cis boy would react, my anguish was ignored and I was treated like shit.

No teenage boy would want this. “Hey you get breasts, no penis, a high pitched voice and you have to fight to get access to low dose testosterone!” Everything has to be a fight. I have to fight for male puberty while cis boys get it automatically. I have to do all of this shit and be the toughest person in the room. I have to be the educated one, I have to be more responsible than my age calls for, I have to be exceptional just for people to view me with baseline human dignity.

And people don’t trust me. Adults don’t trust me when I’ve insisted on being a boy and transitioning for years. Meanwhile a cis kid with even the slightest bit of dysphoria gets immediate treatment just because, yeah, dysphoria is horrific. But for some reason in trans kids dysphoria is okay.

Why are 13 year old boys considered more mature than I am? I mean, I’m told they’re not, but yet they’re allowed to undergo puberty and I’m “not old enough yet.” IN WHAT WORLD IS A 16 YEAR OLD YOUNGER THAN A 13 YEAR OLD? I am more educated than a 13 year old on everything related to male puberty. I have more emotional development than a 13 year old. I am mentally more developed than a 13 year old, and yet I’m treated as if cis boys have some magical mental ability that I do not.

In fact, I tried to resist against going through puberty at 9, and I was forced through it anyway. Permanent fucking damage and bodily mutilation is what I went through. Against my will. I was old enough at 9 to go through permanent changes that I never wanted, and yet 7 years later I’m too young to go through permanent changes I do want?

To me, cis people get it handed to them. I understand many have their hardships, but at least they get the right puberty.

It’s so much labor. So much energy spent on something I should already have. Something 97-99% of the population gets automatically I have to work for. I have to face constant roadblocks and jump through a million hoops just for a taste of what cis people get every day and they don’t even know how lucky they are. Sometimes I want every cis adult to suddenly change sex for a week and see how easy it is, that would be unethical. Yet it’s ethical to force trans people into the same state because cis people are more valuable.

I’m less valuable. My mental state is less important. My quality of life doesn’t matter because I’m not a person, apparently. I shouldn’t have thoughts, I’m not old enough for those.

Love being at the intersection between being both oppressed as a trans person and oppressed as a minor. It’s so fun.

I‘m 16 and pre-T and pass around 70% of the time as a guy. Well, as a 12 year old boy. I’ve been out since I was 13, and ages 10-12 were spent in lockdown, so I have limited experience with womanhood.

However, this year I’m working at a lab at the university in the city I live close to. It’s through a program where high school students get to work hands on in a lab and study a certain topic (I’m studying ALS) and it’s really cool, especially because it focuses on supporting underrepresented groups in STEM.

So, I have a university badge and department of pathology lanyard, and people assume I’m an undergrad student, but as a girl (my deadname is covered in the badge with my actual name, too). Not everyone misgenders me, and maybe it’s just the city, but I get a lot of “sweethearts“ and “sweeties” from old men (I tend not to mind if it’s old women, since that’s normally in the context of “thank you, sweetie” when I hold open the door, for example). It really sucks, especially when it’s “sweetheart, sweetheart, you got any cigarettes?” while eyeing me up and down like a piece of meat or maybe a peculiar specimen (actually happened yesterday. He had 2 young girls with him, I’m assuming his daughters, and he was yelling at them. I feel so bad for them and that man’s behavior seems dangerous for those girls to be around). I also feel immediate danger around old men that I didn’t before because now they perceive me as a girl, and they act so creepy. Old city men are the absolute worst every time they open their mouths to talk to me (And I’m not an ”all men are bad” person, I am a dude myself). Young people in general are fine, they don’t talk to me. Old ladies are kind to me. Old men are fucking creeps to me.

I went from people assuming I’m a middle school/freshman high school boy to now people assuming I’m an undergrad girl. My appearance hasn’t changed too much, and I even look more masc now because of natural loss of baby fat and general weight loss+muscle gain from working out. And without the badge, I’m not misgendered nearly as much, it’s just the difference in age perception. Why would a 12 year old boy have a university badge? Why would a 16 year old boy have a university badge? It HAS to be a college student. And no college-aged man looks like that, so it has to be a masculine woman (I know this isn’t true, but I imagine that as the thought process). I hate it. I just want people to perceive me as a kid again, because at least they get my gender right.

I’ve also gotten groped when I was perceived as a boy, and that sucked but it feels soul crushing when I’m catcalled in a feminine way. It goes from “ew I’m uncomfortable get me out of here“ to “they see me as a girl and I want to die now.” I’m fairly numb to sexual harassment by now, it’s mainly misgendering that bothers me.

At least my lab is supportive, and that’s where I spend 8 hours a day anyway. I love my lab. It’s less exciting than people think, but it’s really cool and an amazing environment.

(and I keep my bus pass on my lanyard with my ID so I don’t lose it and can easily scan it, so it’s mainly while I’m waiting for the bus or walking to the lab from the bus and don’t want to stop and put my lanyard in my bag and then get it out again 5 minutes later)

I (16) am going into my junior year of high school and need to get my name changed for graduation. I’m in the race for salutatorian and class president (currently rank 10 and the 9 students ahead of me all have rank 1). I mostly care in case I do get salutatorian or class prez because having to correct everyone before giving a speech would be mortifying and EVERYONE would know I am trans. I also want to be able to walk down and have my proper name on my diploma and have my proper name announced.

I’m going to start the process beginning of junior year because there may be hoops to jump through and I can‘t leave this until the last minute. I’m also absolutely terrified because there’s something something Trump administration that may stop me from doing this if it’s enacted (didn’t read too much into it). I will try to find any loophole I can, even if it means changing my legal name.

I will be 18 when I graduate, but a legal name change will probably take longer than the time between my 18th birthday (early February) and graduation (early June) and all the information for graduation is filled out in late April. I might try to get it changed as a minor, but I definitely will ask the counselor first.

I definitely want my preferred name on my diploma because I want to change my legal name no later than the summer after I graduate and I don’t want to explain why my legal name is different than the name on my diploma and I don’t want to go back and get it changed just a couple months after graduating.

Most other people don’t even have to think about this and it sucks that I have to do so much just for some common decency. If they call my deadname, most people won’t know who that is and it’s better to just have my actual name.

Has anyone else here done anything like this? For reference, I am in Pennsylvania, USA, because laws differ place to place.