TRANS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

 

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Equality and separation cannot exist in the same space. 

~Jason Mraz

GRATITUDE

 

THOUGHTS FROM A TRANSGNDER VETERAN

I attend the Veterans Day parade religiously every year. Each year I trek downtown to pay homage to my fellow veterans. As I watched the contingent of Korean veterans march by, it reminded me of how they encouraged me to participate and share my story.

I served in the U.S. Army at Fort Riley, Kansas in the First Meddac Division (1971-1974). I was a pharmacy tech. I never went overseas but the experience of being a part of something greater than myself was life-changing. I didn't know that I was transgender until 2005 but maybe it was better that I didn't. 

Men and women of all sexualities and identities have served in the armed forces with dignity. The ban on transgender people serving was wrong-headed and stupid. I am proud to have served my country. I am proud to be a transgender veteran.  

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, chaos to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, 

It can turn into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

~Melody Beattie, Writer (b.1948)

TRANGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

We are making preparations for Transgender Day of Remembrance.  We will be having it on Friday, November 19th, at my senior center, both virtual and in person. I saw the list of the women and men murdered this year and it's really sad. 

THANKFUL PEOPLE ARE HAPPY

 

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.

~Nido Qubein 

THANKFUL PEOPLE

 

BEING THANKFUL

This month I will post much about Thanksgiving and thankfulness. It is a 365 day thing. I'm thinking that, maybe, Thanksgiving Day is overlooked. However one feels about that special day we should always be thankful for everything.

GRATITUDE

 

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.

~Oliver Goldsmith, Poet (1730-1774)

STANDING UP

 A decade ago I said that transgender people needed to share their own stories. Now trans people are not only sharing their stories. We are taking to task those who will try to silence us or making our existence irrelevant. 

When I came out years ago I made up my mind to live openly. I will tell anybody that we transpeople were the ones who began the liberation movement for LGBTQ+ people. No one can deny this or take away that fact.

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

All human beings deserve equal treatment, no matter their gender identity or sexuality.  

~Andreja Pejic

JOURNEYS ARE VARIED

 Each trans person's journey s uniquely their own.

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Love who you are, embrace who you are. Love yourself. When you love yourself, people can kind of pick up on that: they can see confidence, they can see self-esteem, and naturally, people gravitate towards you. 

~Lilly Singh  

OCTOBER 11TH

 

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

What people call impartiality may simply mean indifference, and what people call partiality may simply mean mental activity.

~Gilbert K. Chesterton, Writer (1874-1936)

I AM WHAT I SAY I AM

 

TIME FOR PAUSE

 I am curious to see how all the anti-trans bills will proceed. While some have passed, others have not. Others, legislators and administrators are taking pause. I pray they realize that these bills will cause more problems. For the people who are targeted. For the community. For the cost to the taxpayer. Above all, for the needless suffering trans people will endure. 

What concerns me is the people who use God and the Bible to justify their biases. I have been a Christian for over half my life. Nowhere does Jesus condemn or trash others because they are different. NOWHERE! 

I pray that the people will see these bills as evil and wrong. More parents are standing and accepting their trans children. BRAVO! I trust that those in power will see us as loving human beings who want to live happy and productive lives.