Friend: “How does this evolution stuff work? I thought we were all made by the Lord Almighty in his image.” *crosses his heart*

(The teacher begrudgingly answers the question.)

Me: “Umm, I thought you were an atheist?”

Friend: “I am, but [Teacher] has been lying to my parents about how I’m a nuisance because I disagreed with our last piece of coursework, so I’m going to show her what a real nuisance is like.”

(For three months he asked the most ignorant and mind-numbing questions you can imagine. After our quarterly parent’s evening, he stopped, so I assume it all got sorted out.)

(In my middle school choir class, I’m the quiet overachiever who is bullied quite frequently. I can change my mood in a split second, and can set a mood with just my voice. These girls are making fun of me for still going trick or treating; Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love dressing up. [Mean Girl #1] decides to get the whole class’s attention just to make fun of me.)

Mean Girl #1: “So, [My Name], what are you dressing up as this year?”

(She says it in a condescending baby voice that makes the rest of the class laugh.)

Mean Girl #2: “You going as a princess? Why aren’t you wearing your costume?”

(I receive more laughs from other students.)

Me: “I am.”

Mean Girl #1: “I don’t see it, princess.”

(I get this dead look on my face, relaxing all the muscles in my face except for my eyes, which I make wide on cue.)

Me: *quoting Wednesday Addams from “The Addams Family” in my spot-on impression* “This is my costume. I’m a homicidal serial killer; they look just like everybody else.”

(The room is silent; you could hear a pin drop. I go back to my work, putting on my happiest face as I scratch away markings on my music with my pencil. Everyone in the class is still staring at me.)

Mean Girl #1: “Are you serious?”

Me: “I’m always in costume.”

(I have a friend who does not have any talent for languages, but has a well-known love for those video games where you manage an empire and either plot world-domination or achieve victory by diplomacy or other means. We are in French class, and my friend has been asked to answer a question in French.)

Friend: *in plain Dutch* “I can’t; I don’t know how to.”

Teacher: “You need to learn languages. Do your best! Imagine you’re playing your empire control game. What if a region under your control only has French citizens? How would you rule them?”

Friend: “I don’t; I execute them all.”

Teacher: “Not the point I was making, but I suppose it would work.”

(One of my classmates is a hard-working student, she has sass and attitude, and she isn’t afraid of anything. In spite of this, she can’t get her average grades up over 50%, and that’s even after I offer to tutor her as I have a 90% average.)

Classmate: *struggling to work out a problem* “Uh… [My Name]?”

Me: “Yes?”

Classmate: “You’re super smart, right?”

Me: “Uh…”

Teacher: “Yes, he is, but don’t let that discourage you.”

Classmate: “And you’re going to be, like, a super successful lawyer right?”

Me: “That’s what I’m aiming for, yeah…”

Classmate: “Can I be your trophy wife?”

(I think our teacher almost died that day. On a side note, I did graduate law school, I am currently engaged to my classmate, and she’s still a bit of an airhead, but she managed to get into a medical school aiming for a position as a nurse!)

(Our class is doing presentations on news articles and how they impact us as global citizens. A girl in our class does a presentation about the Texas Transgender Bathroom Bill. When talking about how it impacts her as a global citizen, she says:)

Student #1: “This impacts me as a global citizen because it affects the LGBT community and their rights. It is important that others know about this bill and how it could impact others. It’s also important to me because I am a part of the community in this article, and I want to prevent my rights from being taken away.”

(It’s an incredibly powerful moment and it is very well-received by the class. As she goes to sit down, a student behind her taps her on the shoulder.)

Student #2: “Wow, [Student #1], I didn’t know you were from Texas.”

(Apparently, [Student #2] got confused about which community she said she was a part of.)

This story is part of the Even-More-Transgender-Stories roundup! This is the last story in the roundup, but we have plenty of others you might enjoy!

17 Stories That Will Have You Bursting With Love And Pride – For International Pride Month! 

Read the next Even-More-Transgender-Stories-themed roundup story!

Read the Even-More-Transgender-Stories-themed roundup!