Culture

This trans guy reads an inspiring letter to his pre-transition self and it is amazing (VIDEO)

Feb 17 2017
Written by Joseph McCormick

A transgender man has written an emotional letter to his pre-transition self in the hope that he can help others going through similar journeys.

Jamie Raines reads a letter he wrote to himself as he was before his transition.

The activist has documented his transition in a number of ways, and says that he found his feelings pre-transition to be confusing.

He writes the letter to himself before he knew he was transgender.

“Pretty soon, you’re going to realise something big about yourself,” he says. “And it will change your life forever.”

He adds: “You’re not weird, you’re not a freak, you’re transgender… There is nothing wrong with you and you’re not alone.”

Raines says he watched a documentary which helped him figure out his transgender status.

Going on, he says it was “terrifying” for him to come out, especially to his family, but that he felt relieved afterwards.

“I know that you’re currently going through a really tough time,” he continues. “But you’ll get through it.

“Try writing down how you’re feeling…you won’t be able to talk about it straight away.

“The hardest thing is going to be accepting yourself. But with time – and seeing others out there going through the same thing – you’ll get there.”

He finishes: “One day, you’ll be really proud of who you are.”

Check out the video below:

Raines also took a selfie every day for three years as he transitioned, to document the changes, and released a video of the project back in 2015.
He started the project before going on testosterone aged 18, taking a picture of himself nearly every day.

Three years later, aged 21, Mr Raines – who appeared in Channel 4 documentary Girls to Men – has uploaded the pictures to show how much he has changed.

He explained to Buzzfeed: “I wanted something for me to document my transition. I thought I’d take a photo every day so when I strung it all together you could see the changes. Within the first six months you didn’t see that much but as time went on it became more and more rewarding.”

Here is the full montage of Jamie’s amazing transition.