My friend Max is a really big part of my life. I have known him since I was little. He was on my first soccer team and we really got along because we both hated to run and actually play soccer. It was funny. Max has always been the sweetest nicest people ever and he is stronger and braver than any other person I have ever met. And I can confidently say that because Max used to be Madison. He wasn’t Max until my freshman year of college.
When he was Madison, she had a ton of friends, played soccer, and was a part of girl scouts. She seemed like she was fine, like there wasn’t anything wrong. Eventually Madison started to dress more and more like a boy. She said she was gay. Everyone was more than okay with it because we loved her for who she was. I just wish that we knew earlier how unhappy he was when he was her.
Fast forward a few years and Madison came out as transgender. At this point it wasn’t really a shock to us because if I’m being honest, we could all see it coming from a mile away. The transition wasn’t an easy process it was a lot of him mentally and physically. But he was so strong and even though he had to go to a ton of doctor’s appointments and had to go to gender therapy he was excited to see where the road was going because every day he felt more and more like his true self.
I am so proud of Max because he did all of this transitioning without any family support. He only had his friends and it wasn’t easy. My mom is my number one supporter, but I couldn’t imagine going against her. I give max a lot of credit for standing up for himself and staying true to who he really is. It takes a lot of strength to do that and I am so proud of him every day.
Today Max is happy and healthy and so comfortable in his own skin. He is getting top surgery done soon and he is really excited to be able to look and feel comfortable, especially at the pool or other places like that. He loves himself now more than ever. I have learned so much about self-love and self-respect through Max. He teaches us all every day what true confidence is. It is not easy going against your family’s beliefs, but he did it for his own happiness and that is so incredible. I can’t wait to see what the future hold for Max and I will be there the whole time supporting him throughout everything.