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Intro to Henley

me one year ago: agender? what's that, that sounds like me. but I'm not non-binary.

me a few days later: maybe I'm non-binary, but I'm not transgender.

me within a few months: okay, I'm transgender, but I'll probably never get chest surgery or go on testosterone. 

present me: ....

I'm 36 and spent 35 years of my life tirelessly trying to fit into the straight cis cube. That's not what shape I am (or want to be) or can be, so I never fit right. The acceptance that I never will, and don't have to, was the most freeing feeling ever. 

I now go by Brax and my pronouns are they/them. Brax comes from the name my parents wanted to name me if I was assigned male at birth. Braxton because of all the false contractions (Braxton hicks) I tormented my poor mother with.

This is the piece of information about me I chose to start with because I feel like its an important part of my identity right now. I know its not the only important or interesting thing about me, but it is all encompassing. I'm not one of the quiet trans people, though I completely understand why someone would be that type of trans person. I'm loud about it, I'm committed to activism, not just for myself and my community, but for other traditionally marginalized people as well. I live in the belief that if your activism does not include all of the traditionally marginalized groups it is not true activism. 

Some other things about me will become clear as I write, but mostly I'm a parent to humans, cats, and plants. I spend most of my time putting ink to paper in some capacity, and when I'm not, I'm usually reading or looking at someone else's ink on paper.

I am on the aroace spectrum, which will involve many other, much longer, writings for sure.

Also, I was recently diagnosed with a medical condition in my sinuses called nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis. I just had my first surgery to have polyps removed. While resting through the stage of not feeling well in the days leading up to my surgery and also through my recovery, I have really focused on drawing. I've always been really interested in drawing and now I am finally starting to practice regularly. This is something I'm now very committed to and I am totally unembarrassed about being a beginner and willing to share the results of the practice just for fun. I know that I have messages to get across in my drawings and the messages will resonate with people. So enjoy them, they'll be found in the Resources section of the Equity Buckfield website. 

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