Set aside this day to be like, come on. Call your trans brother or sister or
sibling. Hit them up and be like, "What's up?" Like,
"I love you."
Hi, I'm Josie Totah. I like to act. You may know me from 'Glee,' or possibly the Disney
Channel, or maybe my NBC show 'Champions.' I got
into acting because my sister got into UCLA and we came out here for
orientation. So my mom was trying to fill our time with something to do. So she
actually signed me up for an acting class and the acting coach was like, "Oh,
wow! You're not like horrible at this." I think it definitely hurt my
identity. I feel like because I was booking roles playing one identity,
which was usually a feminine guy, but in my home life and in real life I'm
obviously not that– I'm female and that's what I choose to identify as– I feel like
I would be interviewed and be like, "So what's it like to be gay in America?"
And I'm like, "Well, I never came out as gay, but I'm assuming..."
I feel like there's so
many times that I've come across just feeling lonely, whether it was like
people were being mean to me or no one can relate to me. I think something in
particular was where I was gone for a family member's wedding and my mom got a
call from the principal and the principal said that the class held
a meeting and that they voted for me to leave the school because I didn't
fit in and I made them uncomfortable because I was so different because of
the way I liked to dress and act. I decided to go to a private Catholic high
school, despite people telling me not to.
I went for it, and it was truly one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
So when I had decided to come out, or tell the world that I was transgender,
that summer after graduating, I had to make a decision. I had been participating
in mock trial my entire senior year and I fell in love with my mock trial coach, Mr.
Bullock, who's an incredible man, and I had promised him I would return my
freshman year of college, so basically the next school year, to help him coach
mock trial. I remember being so scared, and I walked into my high school
and literally there was my entire mock trial team, my coach, my principal and
everyone just with open arms saying, "Josie! Josie! We love you so much!
We're so happy for you! We accept you! We've always loved you and
congratulations!" and it was just like... the room lit up. It was insane.
It was such an incredible experience to have that full circle moment.
I think that Trans Day Of Visibility is just extremely important because it's a time
where we can honor trans lives that are struggling currently and who have
already struggled and passed before us and who have, you know, put up this huge
fight. I think it's so important to recognize that although we're in this
ever-changing, progressively growing world where we are becoming more and
more accepting, we are also still having so many struggles and so many lives are
still being lost and, you know, we have trans people that are alive and well and
thriving and we accept them and love them, but also we have ones that are not
and we need to support them. We need to stand up for them and set aside this day to be
like, come on. Call your trans brother or sister or sibling. Hit them up and be like,
"What's up? I love you."
No matter where you identify on the LGBTQ+
spectrum, I want you to know that on this day, Trans Day Of Visibility, you are seen,
you are visible, you are loved and you are accepted. There are people waiting to
love you, I promise you even if you can't see it now. There are people lining up
around the corner. You just have to fight the fight. You will get there, and it will
get better.
Hi, I'm Josie Totah, and I'm here to tell you that It Gets Better.