Embracing Identity, Authenticity and Self-Discovery

When the mirror reflects your truest self, the world becomes a canvas of authenticity. Our latest clip episode, Carrie James' narrative is a vibrant celebration of this harmony between the internal and external as she shares what it's like to navigate the waters of identity and self-realization.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

You can tell just the joy that you have when that inner matches the outer, and authenticity is there. You can see it especially in that first picture in the car. Your eyes tell the story, and so it's amazing. It's amazing to see, it's amazing to experience and it's amazing to see in others as well. I've been lucky.

Speaker 2: 0:24

I mean you cross paths with like a, you know, shelby, you know, and she's always and you know, we all have our battles, we all have our wars, we all have our tough times, but I, I got deep, but I've been lucky, you know, I've had great support and the support I have has been great and wonderful and I think that that's kind of added on to the happiness and I'm I'm seeing things through a different lens right now, you know, not because I just gotta wear glasses, but um but no, I can see, you know, things just are much more crisper in my life and I'd like to think, think I'm a better person, exactly, you know, you know, and I think that's the one thing that we talked earlier about you know, about therapy, it was kind of recognizing that, that I had victories I didn't even know about, right, you're like, you know, okay, you've got this, and so.

Speaker 2: 1:19

I just tried to. You know, I just go live my life. You know, I just gotta live my life. You know, um, and whether it's you know my own, however I mean so is.

Speaker 3: 1:30

Is there anyone that give you a like, a big impact or influence when you first started? Yeah, any other girl.

Speaker 2: 1:39

Not, not me, but anybody else well, I was gonna say it was you, no no, no and uh me but anybody else. Well, I was gonna say it was you. No, no, no and uh, but no, there has been, but it was more. You know, seeing how they kind of lived, you know how they were negotiating it through. I mean, I think that I know there's some people that are having a really tough time.

Speaker 2: 1:58

Yes, yes and they, they and I think they I tell this when I've told people and I, you know, is go on your own pace. And um, you know, yeah, maybe some people it's a little longer, right, you know, you don't know. You know somebody says, no, you got to go do your shots, you got to go take. You know, you got to do this kind of you're not living, you're not out entirely. You know I've had people say, you know, because you're kind of negotiating and you're not totally out at work, there's not enough hiding anything. It just hasn't happened, right, but, um, it was more of a, you know, well, you're not out.

Speaker 2: 2:38

Well, okay, I'm out to me you know, and so I think that when you find your settled spot, you know you take your victories and you move on and you try to keep going on. But I think of those things I've always told people it's like you go on your own pace, it's just like you know. I feel different than if I wasn't doing this.

Speaker 1: 2:55

Right. You know there's no heart.

Speaker 2: 2:58

We all have our lives and you know, you should. You know, you know, know.

Speaker 1: 3:05

That's just how I live there's no one right way to be cis and there's no one right way to be trans, and so what's unique is our journeys are so similar and so different at the same time. I always find that fascinating. I was talking on social media this week about that, about how they're so similarities, but then they're entirely different contexts yeah, you know, yeah, and I agree.

Speaker 2: 3:32

I mean um. And you know, the first time was a girl, a friend of mine, and she, she, um, cisgendered and um, she was realizing she was a bit of a lipstick lesbian. And we were having drinks and it happened to be in a in a bar that all of a sudden was a happy hour for several trans girls and you know, we were getting ready to go. She had to go and I said I'm going to pay the bill and she goes, take a look, because that's your life, because she knew what was going on, and two weeks later I was taking that picture, you know earlier, like all right, you know, you know, so that's kind of excellent okay.

Speaker 3: 4:23

So, um, do you want to give some articles that who's still in the closet or maybe not sure, or afraid to go forward or come out? Do you have any advice? Or or even people who's maybe working and they're not. They are not sure if they should come out. You know, yeah, you know, based on your experience. Do you have any advice?

Speaker 2: 4:47

for I think, you know, just like I said before, everybody has their own pace. Yes, and I, and I think that if you're not ready, you know, you decide, you know when will you be ready, and if you don't think you're ever going, I just this is not for the faint hearted. I mean, you guys are going, you know. You know what it's like. This is not an easy trial, you know, and no one chooses this. And I, you know, I choose to be very positive.

Speaker 2: 5:20

But you know, I understand, you know the world's not bright and you know sunshiny every day. I know there's some girls out there that you know they've lost jobs, they've lost families, they've been on the street, you know, and God bless them for, you know, still continuing on. But at the end of the day, we, we all deserve to be living with dignity. You know, we all deserve to be living as our true selves and I think that's the one thing I would say is like find your level of dignity, find your area, Don't let anybody push you. You know, because if you're doing this because so-and-so and I've had this conversation where I'm saying, know, carrie, you got to do this, you got to do that, you know, and I'm like, okay, I'm not or I'm gonna say okay, let's do it, you know and you know it's where that fits into your life, right, exactly.

Speaker 2: 6:02

and like I've been lucky, right, I've got these neighbors on both sides me and they they noticed, I mean, you know, when we were talking earlier, when I first started living full-time, it was during the during early part of the pandemic, and they knew what was happening. You know, and you know, out here in Michigan, you know people, you know at first, when they would get together, they'd sit on their driveway, you'd sit on their sidewalk and I'm like, okay, I'm going to do this. And I came walking out in heels and a pair of you know leather leggings, you know I love it this. And I came walking out and heels and a pair of you know leather leggings, you know it was great, you know. And so they said and I do live in an area that has a lot of uh, diversity in it, you know- mostly gay, but but it's a lot of diversity, yeah, okay.

Speaker 3: 6:45

So, michelle, do you have any last question for Carrie today?

Speaker 1: 6:48

well, I just it's really good to know you and it's really fun to see you walk in your authenticity, and it sounds like community has been really important to you, both in your cis and in trans friends, and so I think that's a kind of a lesson for all of us that we've been given a lot and now we have a lot to give, and so it's exciting.

Speaker 2: 7:10

I don't try to. You know, I figured you know I can. There are people I can talk to and I've asked you know, shelby, you know things and then just seeing how people live their lives and how they progress right, you know Shelby had changed careers, you know, and I've had to. You know I'm thinking am I able to do that? You know.

Speaker 3: 7:29

Come join me to become a realtor.

Speaker 2: 7:36

You know, shelby, come join me to become a realtor. You know, shelby will probably be a real estate agent in california. You know.