how i found my confidence (despite the noise)
i used to think confidence was something you earned—like it would magically show up once i was “girl enough” or passed perfectly or made everyone around me comfortable.
but that was a lie i swallowed for years.
a lie whispered by strangers, family, and even my own reflection.
“you’ll never be real.”
“you’re just confused.”
“you’ll never be pretty enough.”
those words clung to me like a second skin.
but here’s the thing, i got tired of carrying their voices in my body.
i got tired of waiting for permission to love myself.
so one day, i didn’t.
i put on the outfit that made me feel alive.
i used my name out loud even when my voice shook.
i looked in the mirror and decided to see the girl who had always been there,
not the version the world tried to erase.
confidence didn’t come overnight.
it came in stolen moments of joy,
in crying on the bathroom floor then getting up anyway,
in painting my nails even when my hands trembled,
in finding my people online, in the mirror, and eventually, in real life.
confidence came when i realized i didn’t need to prove my girlhood.
i just needed to live it.
so now, when someone tries to dim my light,
i remember i built this glow from the ashes of their doubt and that makes it unshakable.
i am a trans girl.
i am confident.
not because the world accepts me but because i do.
💖✨
