I repeated the January 7 incident with another person!

I don't remember exactly when this second thing happened but it was a great interaction.

I was stationed at the front desk of our office and two people came in... Clearly a Mom and their offspring... The younger person looked a bit uncomfortable. Mom did most of the talking. I asked my usual questions to determine why they were there that day. After a few minutes the younger person asked if I was trans. It isn't often that someone comes out and asks me and I generally won't/don't reply but since the young person was in a place I understood, I acknowledged her question and replied yes! I checked them in and they stayed at the window chatting with me for a few minutes. Mom asked if I knew any support groups in town and my immediate response was no... I mentioned a couple of places that probably would be able to help the young woman navigate our conservative town. After a few minutes, someone came in and they took a seat, waiting for assistance. I thought about the support group question... remembering that there is an all inclusive LGBTQIA group. I had to share the information and went to where they were sitting and said to look up the person and I'd met them a few years back, seems nice.

They get called. A short time later I take my break and they're close to the conference room. I stop and chat (it's probably completely inappropriate for me to talk about such issues at work) but Mom asked how long I have been out at work, how accepted I am by the public and if I feel safe. I told her my opinion, "most people are decent but there are people who know nothing more than how to be jerks." I also said that it's important to be yourself even when it's hard to do it.

I genuinely think that I had a very positive impact on their day. I still feel that being a good role model is key. I think I represent transgender folks in a very positive manner. Some days I have many interactions with the public and multiple days in a row... Some people are pretty awesome, just like the people you'd want to know are your neighbors. 

Two posts in one day! What's up with that??

This story popped into my mind and I didn't want to let it fade away.

Remember to be visible! Make your plans, Transgender Day of Visibility is a week away!

Thanks for spending the time to read this.

Heather

January Seven, Two thousand twenty-five! I made someone's day brighter.

Hi friends,

I'm here. I'm managing as well as possible and hope y'all are coping as well as possible.

I encountered a nice person today. They were in my office. I checked them in. 

I had them enter their personal information into our computer and realized their "dead name" is the same as mine! I asked them their name and they said, "X" but I prefer "A."

I replied, " 'X?' Hey, that was my name too!"

I checked them in and our system recognized them as "X."

I thought for a second... I told my coworker, "I'll be right back." I go to the lobby.. and ask 'A' "you said you prefer 'A,' right? I tell her, I can't promise it'll work but I'll put that you prefer 'A' and hopefully it will work but listen for either name..."

I run back to my computer... hit the edit button for their info... hoping that someone hadn't claimed their task... and updated their profile...

A few minutes later, Julie comes to call her next customer, opens the door and calls "A." 

My direct co-worker said that "A" smiled.

I got shivers! I felt that I had genuinely done my good deed for the day!

I hope this little interaction brings a bit of happiness to your day.

Heather.