I’m a person riddled with anxiety, depression and just overall fear. In the past, these fears have prevented me from doing all sorts of things. In high school I was too afraid to make new friends or go to school dances. In college I was too afraid to join clubs or find help about how to come out. After college I was too afraid to travel or follow my passions. My life is also filled with fears that don’t have as profound an effect. I’m scared of whales, spiders, shadows that look like people, the game “Bloody Mary” and raw cookie dough (or really anything with raw eggs because of salmonella).
It’s not easy telling thousands of people all the weird little (and big) things I’m afraid of. I know a lot of these fears are unfounded and irrational, but that hasn’t stopped them from holding me back. This year, however, I started facing those fears. Thanks in a huge part to Autostraddle, I started living the life I’ve dreamed of for the first time ever.
1. Transitioning
If you know me from places other than here, you’re probably thinking, “wait, didn’t she start coming out as trans two years ago?” While that is true, I didn’t fully come out until last October, and even then I was still extremely afraid of a lot of things I knew I would be getting into. The truth is, I still am. If one thing really helped me to start feeling comfortable about it, it would have to be the writing that Annika did for AS. When I heard that she was going to take an indefinite break from writing, I was sad, but I understood. Reading her farewell article reassured me that I would be okay. It also let me know that I could find a great, welcoming and affirming community at Autostraddle.
2. Sharing my writing
I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since elementary school, but when writing didn’t come as easily for me as other things in school did, I was afraid people would laugh at me for it. Because of this I never really stretched my writer’s wings or submitted things I had written anywhere. When I did write (which wasn’t very often), I kept it to myself. Then I saw that Autostraddle — already one of my favorite websites — was putting out a call for articles written by trans women, and I knew this was my chance. I started writing, submitted to the trans*scribe series, had my first article published and never looked back.
3. Talking about being fat
Aside from the dysphoria and other negative body images that come from being trans, I also have a bunch of issues that come from being fat. I’ve been trying to be body positive and embrace my body, and over on my tumblr I’ve posted little slogans and rallying cries like “fat femmes forever” when I want to feel good about myself, but it wasn’t until I wrote about being fat and trans that I really took a good look at my feelings. Getting those feelings out in the open and seeing the reaction and the support I got made me feel better about myself than I ever thought I could.
I found my new calling
4. Following my passions
When I was an English major in college, I said I would probably end up going to graduate school and eventually become a teacher (which is a totally awesome thing if you want to do it) even though that’s not something I ever wanted. Writing was what I was passionate about, but I thought people would think it was silly or immature. Despite being published a few times on Autostraddle, I still thought I’d never be more than a once-in-a-while casual writer.
I wanted so badly to be able to write regularly and have an official position here that I literally had dreams about it. On the night of June 25th, I dreamed that the website announced they were looking for new Contributing Editors. Then, on June 27th, Autostraddle actually did announce that they were hiring new Contributing Editors. Now that I get to tell people I work for Autostraddle, I’m proud of where my life is. I might be weird and depressed and nerdy, but I get to be a part of one of the most amazing teams of people I’ve ever met, doing something that I’ve dreamed about doing for years and years.
5. Coming out to old teachers
The only people I’ve really come out to are the ones I see on a regular basis. But when we published a roundtable about teachers who were influential in our queer stories, I decided to face my fears and email my favorite professor from college. Up until that point, I had very purposefully kept my current life separate from the person I was in college. That was before I came out, that was before I became the person I am today, and I always thought it would make my life too complicated, too confusing to mix the two. When I did finally mix them and let my teacher know just how influential she had been in my life, I realized that I had nothing to worry about. Even if things were a little more complicated, they were definitely better.
6. Robots
Well, let’s be clear, the only robots I’m not afraid of anymore are fictional ones. I’m still deathly afraid of real-life robots, like the drones Amazon is planning on using. Thanks to my column, Drawn to Comics, I’ve been reading some great webcomics about robots, and they’ve softened my stance a little bit. I still refuse to watch WALL-E though.
Thanks Gabby
7. Wearing leggings as pants
I’ve loved leggings for a long time. I wear them with dresses, with skirts and even with those pieces of clothing that are somewhere in between shirts and dresses. I’ve loved it when other people wear them as pants, but I’ve alway been afraid to try it myself. My body isn’t built like most of the bodies that leggings are marketed to. My body is not built like most of the bodies that society deems attractive. Most of the clothes marketed towards women with bodies like me are designed specifically to hide my curves and outlines. Then I read something that gave me all the courage I needed. Gabby’s words, even though they didn’t all apply to me, made me want to femme up, face my fears and go out in leggings for the first time. It was definitely the right decision and one that I’ll continue to make.
8. Eating hummus
This might seem like an irrational fear (and it is), but there are a lot of fairly common foods that I’ve been afraid to try. I’m not the pickiest eater, but the foods I don’t like tend to be very popular (like cottage and cream cheese) and I’ve always been afraid that if I tried a food and didn’t like it, I would offend people and lose friends. Again, I realize that I probably wouldn’t lose friends if I ended up not liking hummus, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was still hugely afraid that this would happen. Luckily, when I tried hummus for the first time at A-Camp, I thought it was pretty good and I didn’t lose any friends.
9. Flying
Being afraid to fly has prevented me from going out of state for college, it’s prevented me from traveling around the country or the globe, it’s prevented me from visiting people I love. When I got invited to be a part of A-Camp this past May, the only way I could go was if I flew. So, I gathered up all my strength, packed my bags and went to the airport. Even though I’ve now cried at airports twice this year, hyperventilated in the LAX bathroom and had some of the most stressful days of my life, I would happily do it again if it meant I had the chance to go back to the wonderful place that is A-Camp.
10. Dancing in public
All throughout high school I managed to avoid school dances. I felt uncomfortable in my body and didn’t want other people to see how awkward and disjointed my movements would be. Even more, I was afraid that people would look at me or try to dance with me, and I couldn’t stand the thought of people being that close to a body that I hated. When I got to A-Camp and I found out that there was dancing, I was both excited and terrified. When I did dance, I realized how much I had been missing. There are few things as fun as dancing with all your friends and few things as life-affirming as having a handsome butch dance with you.
11. Drinking in public
I’d always told people that I didn’t drink because I didn’t know how alcohol would interact with my anti-seizure medication (which is partially true), but a bigger reason was that I was afraid that with my inhibitions down I would out myself. I was afraid that I would act too girly or too queer and I wouldn’t be able to take it back. Being at A-Camp made it so I didn’t have to worry about those things any more. No one here would judge me for being queer or trans — instead they celebrated those things about me.
12. Embracing selfies
If you follow me on tumblr, you’ll notice that I really started ramping up my selfie game this year. I also signed up on Instagram and started posting a bunch of pictures to Facebook. I used to be afraid that I would post a ton of selfies and no one would care, or even worse, they would react negatively. I was also afraid that people would think I was conceited and self-centered (and when I started posting selfies I did get people telling me that). Now I realize that it’s okay to care about and celebrate my self. A lot of the time for me that means taking selfies.
13. Wearing a bodysuit
Bodysuits are kind of like leggings for your whole body, so if leggings weren’t designed for my body-type, bodysuits definitely weren’t. That didn’t mean my desire to add bodysuits to my closet was any less — I’ve wanted the courage to wear for a long time. It wasn’t until I needed a last-minute Halloween costume and remembered Lizz’s great post about bodysuits that I decided to finally wear mine out.
14. Commenting on internet articles
Sharing my opinions with people I don’t really know has always been hard for me. I can’t even count the times I’ve straddled the fence on simple issues like “what did you think of the new Lord of the Rings movie?” or “what restaurant do you want to go to?” So for me, the idea of commenting on an article where everyone could see it was absolutely petrifying. Then I started to pay closer attention to the people who comment at AS. I noticed what a great community they formed and I started to feel a little better about it. Eventually I got up the courage to start adding my two cents and now I love everyone who makes up the comment boards, and I love being a part of it.
15. Wearing red lipstick and liquid eyeliner
I’ve wanted to try mastering the arts of red lipstick and liquid eyeliner since I started wearing makeup. I never took that step, though, because I was afraid that if I wore liquid eyeliner, fake eyelashes and red lipstick everyday, people would accuse me of playing into stereotypes or reinforcing the gender binary. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wanted to wear this makeup, I really wanted to. My makeup is a big part of my femme identity. The problem was that I had all sorts of people telling me that if I wore too much makeup, I wouldn’t look queer enough, or that “all trans women wear a lot of makeup at first, you’ll grow out of it.” While I didn’t agree and still wanted to wear makeup, in my heart I was afraid they were right.
If I hadn’t stumbled upon Vanessa’s amazing article on queering makeup, I probably wouldn’t be the femme I am today. The idea that it was an act of queer revolution to wear my makeup and practice my skills strengthened my resolve and fortified my queer heart. Reading that there are plenty of other queer women who wear makeup as a subversive and self-affirming act was exactly what I needed to move forward in my femme journey and my life.
What fears did you face in 2013? Did AS help?
oh my god mey i would still want you to be my friend even if you didn’t like hummus, and i hope one day you can help me conquer my own fear of liquid eyeliner.
Can I actually just say that you have inspired me loads. Only came across this website and your story today but it might be just what I needed to hear today to let me know that my own struggles and aspirations are not outside my reach. I think you are a beautiful person and I hope you continue to challenge and accept yourself, as we all should. Happy New Year Mey. I hope 2014 can be half as good as the preceding year.
Welcome to Autostraddle and the Straddleverse!!!
I loved this, and you’re gonna keep doing even more great things in 2014, and I can’t wait to read about it!
Also, I follow you on tumblr and your selfie game is SO STRONG.
Thank you so much! This is actually one of my favorite compliments to receive!
I agree. Mey’s 2k13 selfie collage was definitely my favorite.
You are so awesome, and I love your trans* scribe series! Also, I’m jealous that you look so awesome in your red lipstick and eyeliner. Wish I could rock that look but my fine motor control is seriously stunted, and I always end up looking like a gothic vampire with no table manners. I absolutely admire it on others though, and you do it so well!
Congrats on an amazing year, Mey! It’s such a privilege to read your words, and I love your selfies. You look spectacular in those leggings. :)
Girlfriend, you rock those leggings, that bodysuit, or hell, those weird generic sweatpants with the elastic on the bottoms that you can get for like, $3 at Walgreen’s. Your fabulous personality will continue to inspire me <3
This was beautiful, Mey! I hope 2014 continues to conquer fears and feel beautiful.
Mey! You’re adorable! Your leggings as pants are adorable, your selfies are adorable… Congratulations on such a spectacular and brave year!
Inspiring mey! Love the flowery leggings. Acamp kinda changes things huh? Makes me really really wanna go next year! =) Proud of you girl! PROUD!
You should definitely go! I wouldn’t have had half the year I did if it wasn’t for A-Camp.
This is such a lovely and inspirational read. Thank you for sharing your journey to overcome fears.
This is a beautiful article. I had the same dancing fears, I never danced in public ever. That is until october’s A-Camp. It just felt okay and well fun to dance there, I loved it. Unfortunately I still fear dancing in public that isn’t A-Camp.
Facing fears like this is no easy task and it sounds like you’ve done a LOT of hard work this year! That’s so fantastic! From a completely selfish perspective, I’m especially glad you faced your fear of sharing your writing because I LOVE your writing. The comics stuff is my favorite, but really I love anything you write because you are awesome at it.
This article is so brave. I get anxious about things I consider dumb, like drinking publicly and dancing and leggings-as-pants. But I also feel like everyone else has their shit together. Thanks for being an inspiration.
This is fantastic. You are fantastic. You inspire me.
(This isn’t a well formed comment, but after you specifically mentioned commenting on articles, I couldn’t not.)
I love this!
I haven’t read the article yet (it might take a while..kinda still high), but I saw the title on both twitter and facebook two hours ago and read “15 faces I feared in 2013”, and kept wondering what that might be about.. Now I wanna read an article like that! Like 15 embodibents of the patriarchy to which we must pay particular attention or something. Ok, it’s better if I sleep now. I’ll come back to read the right piece (that I’m sure is more interesting). :)
Mey, I’m so proud to know you! You are inspiring in so, so many ways. I particularly love the embracing of selfies!
I also wanted to tell you that everything you just wrote about writing and following your passion for writing is just what I needed to hear to start off 2014. I too just finished an English degree and applying to grad schools, but am having second thoughts about that path and am facing the fact that what I really love is writing, and maybe I shouldn’t shunt it aside just because it’s difficult to make a living on it. And I too have an incredible connection to Autostraddle and would love to be a writer here… maybe I should try to dream about it and it’ll come true! Hahaha.
Best of luck for the New Year – I cannot wait to see you at the next A-camp. :)
I’m proud to know you too! And I would definitely recommend following writing as a passion. It’s definitely not the easiest or quickest road, but it’s definitely worth it. I’ll see you at A-Camp!
oh. my. god. that cat selfie. <3 <3
this is a grand list of accomplishments, mey. you should be very proud of yourself. thanks for being here and being a beautiful shining star!
I have admired you from afar for as long as you’ve been writing here, and this article confirms why.
Your selfies are great, btw. I too must work on that this year.
I’m so thankful you’re writing for Autostraddle! Your articles are inspirational, real, and hella entertaining. Congrats on a brave year!
Thank you very much for this. I am attempting to tackle some similar issues myself (though I am a hummus addict). I hope you are super proud of you because I am, and I only know of a wee article that caught my eye here on Autostraddle.
Happy New Year beautiful!
This is awesome and also I am in love with you in those floral leggings, jesus crackers.
This was my year for the drinking thing too. My parents told me I was allergic as a child in an attempt to terrify me/help me avoid the alcoholism that runs in the family, and after I found out I (sort of? my body is stupid) wasn’t, I kept using it as an excuse to keep myself “safe” (read: not emotionally, socially, or physically vulnerable or relaxed in any way whatsoever). I’m working on it and it is going okay. Discovering Woodchuck also helped because it is delicious, basically.
2013 has been all about the winged liquid liner and red lipstick for me, and I feel super awesome about it <3
Mey, I really enjoy your articles here. You’ve introduced me to some great comics and your article about coming out to your church really resonated with me. As someone who was taught growing up that Christian and Queer were impossible identities to reconcile I love reading about all the ways it’s possible. So thank you :)
Thank You!
MEY you are my favorite person I have started reading this year. Your articles are incredible and you are incredible and congratulations on facing the hard stuff!
Facing my fears? Didn’t really happen :/
You are such a femmespiration to me. Seeing your selfies let me know that it’s ok to celebrate yourself, they gave me a much needed boost in confidence. Also seeing your gorgeous face, amazing style and innver sweetness and strength shine through always makes my day <3
Aimee!!! You are totally the best and I’m honored that you count me as a femmespiration! You’re totally one of my femmespirations and I love you to pieces!
awww Meyyyy!
<3 <3
Your A-Camp panel, articles, selfies, make-up and outfits delighted and inspired me this year. I’m glad you wrote about being anxious; I always think you project such an air of confidence, or at least conviction and bravery. Thank you for putting all this awesome out into the universe!
Mey, every time I see one of your selfies I smile at your smile. xoxoxo.
Also this list made me tear up and I would like to hug you. Cheers to an even better/braver 2014!
Self-worth is something I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about and trying to amp up back to where mine used to be. I’m 24 and somewhere along the way into adulthood, my level of self-worth and my ability to cope and make it through situations where I feel vulnerable started to drop without my noticing. I especially loved that you included “Embracing selfies” and “Commenting on internet articles” in the list because I’m currently working on those and loved the insight.
Happy New Year to you, and thank you for an honest and encouraging post!
This article is wonderful! Facing your fears is really hard, and my heart is brimming with how awesome you are (and how excellent your selfies are too).