Through Ages Lost and Found

Intro: Personal [Success]

It has only been a little while. I'm barely popular on the internet for my writing yet, but I've made some rather huge achievements so far like being in the top 13% for literacy in my state, gaining over 1,000 reads on several pieces, reaching #1 most popular personal narrative on Wattpad for over a week, having several poems featured in DeviantART's most popular groups (Dueling Artist's Den, DeviantART Worldwide), and being a huge promoter, a top contributor, and regular attendee to my college's first creative writing club which is growing and thriving today.

When I was required to take personal finance in my junior year, I learned the most valuable things which set me for success in life. There I was taught how to invest, file taxes, properly budget money, etc. I still saved the notes from it and have them inside my room for future reference. But nearly every class, the teacher asked us the question: What do you want to do when you grow up? And every time, everyone–LITERALLY EVERYONE–said they wanted to become STEM or business majors.

Except me.

"I want to be an artist!" I cheerfully said.

"Oh..." the teacher replied. Every single time. Whereas, to everybody else since they all had "reliable" career choices, she replied, "Ok!" rather cheerily.

I wasn't out as a trans man yet. So I presented female to her, and yet she'd already had disappointment and doubt in my future because, unlike others, my option for life was creative. And the entire last semester, while I took the class, I continued learning the valuable things and receiving my teacher's support for the finance education yet not my career choice.

My senior year, I finally came out and began presenting male.

The teacher knew all her past students and, one day, while walking the halls, she saw me. She stepped backward and raised an eyebrow, leaning her head various ways the entire time as she greeted me, attempting to see the beard on my face. As she and I spoke, her voice was not quite sad, but more... doubtful. Because her face showed that, clearly, she remembered I wanted to be an artist, and now I was transgender. There was no hope ever that I'd be hired. I damned my future and there wasn't any getting out.

That entire year this teacher and I continued to speak when we passed one another in the halls. However, the doubtful undertone within her voice never faded.

I graduated and proceeded to college, first semester dedicated to art. It wasn't for me, but instead, I found love within writing and decided part-way through that, when the semester ended, I'd be changing my major to creative writing and that was final.

And thus far, my most successful piece which has reached #1 personal narrative on Wattpad for over a week?

My transgender coming out story: Dystopia For A Boy.

I love my teacher, and I deeply value my relationship with her and the education she gave for financial help. But I never let her doubt take me down, and now I'm becoming successful in every area where she assumed I'd inevitably fail.

Never let your true self hide. Never let others' doubt force you into something you aren't. I promise, you can and will succeed because the spirit of the human soul is brighter and stronger than the mundane jobs which will eat you alive in boredom and regret. Never stop doing what you love, and be you whether for better or worse. In time, you will rise despite others. I promise.

-Author Magnus Hjaelmar Tomasko