Unique-Lily Rivera

I stepped back a bit to let the bus slide in front of me. The doors opened and stepped up, sliding my trans pass through the scanner. I turned on my heel, glancing around the bus for a seat. I noticed an old lady staring at me, face contorted in disgust; I shrugged her off. I couldn’t find a seat, so I instead started to walk towards the back door to lean against the wall. I was stopped by the little old lady sitting in the front.

Without warning, she screamed, “Shave it off, whore!”

I looked at her, frozen in slight shock. The rest of the people on the bus turned their heads at the shout, eyes blown wide. Once I got over the slight shock, I looked at her in the eyes, stomach slightly shaking and eyes watering. My head bowed, slight hiccuping noises escaping my taught mouth; I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

I threw my head back and let out a hearty laugh, extremely amused by the outburst. Her face got angrier and angrier the more I laughed. I laughed right in her face and turned away, going to stand in the back of the bus. I shook my head in amusement, giggling quietly to myself.

The concept of a society is a funny thing, isn’t it? This thing that we call ‘Society’ practically rules our lives and determines our place in the world. The real definition of society, “..the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community,” does not seem to match the definition us as a society created and live by. What we know as ‘Society’ has become its own entity, becoming more of a sort of rule book rather than a group of people. Society tells you how to exist has a human in a society, with rules on: what to watch on T.V., what to eat, who to worship, what celebrities to have a crush, but the biggest ones have to be what to wear and what to look like.

Me? Yeah, I definitely don’t fit into those standards. I have my head shaved in a masculine way, my hair is dyed an unnatural color, I have piercings in places that aren’t my ears, I either wear clothing that is too masculine or too revealing, I am not lady-like in any sense, I swear like a sailor, I’m not heterosexual, and I voice my opinions and stand my ground. All of what makes up me goes against mainstream standards for teenage females. I get comments all the time about how pretty I would be if dressed like a girl, or how I am a sinner for going against God’s ideal for how a woman should look, but, personally, I don’t really care. As I grew up, I grew a thick skin and sense of self-love, so I learned not to care about what people think. I never follow society’s rules, because frankly, they’re stupid. I am a leader, not a follower, and I believe that everyone should be one too. Be your own leader, make your own decisions, screw society. Be your own person, and love yourself.