My journey toward pride has been difficult, it took a lot of support from my family and friends and I am grateful that I had them to help me get to the place of pride i find myself in today. Being a trans kid in a country town meant that i had to be a pioneer of sorts. I was the first transgender kid that many people in my community had met, so the community had to adjust to accomodate and accept me. Not only that, but the small size of the community also meant that I couldn’t be ‘stealth’, everyone knew me and therefore also knew my story. However, that small size also meant that the community was very close-knit and therefore wanted the best for each-other, and for me. So, they put in the effort to not only accept me but to uplift me. I feel most closely connected to the local council of my community. The people there had always accepted me and made the effort to understand LGBTQ+ issues. To this day they make the effort to consult queer people on matters that concern them, and show public support for the lgbtq+ people in the community, which I greatly appreciate. I work part time at my local library, and seeing pride flags put up around the door makes be incredibly proud to be apart of my community. I took my photo in a large park near my hometown. It reminded me of the kinds of fields and paddocks my friends and I would play in when we were little. Being there reminded me of how those childhood friends sat there in the grass as I told them I was trans and just as quickly accepted me. They didn’t care that I was trans. We were kids and having fun and being together were more important than anything else to us. I am so unbelievably grateful that I had that kind of unwavering friendship throughout my difficult journey- so I could just be a kid when I needed to be. Around those friends, I was just Isabelle and I didn’t need to be anything else. To this day, they support me for being me and accept me as i am.