200th post / I came out at work, cont’d

Last month, I wrote about coming out at work, and I left a few loose ends that I want to circle back to.

Real quick first though, I wanna acknowledge this blogging milestone!  It’s been 3 years and 6 months now.  Which is 42 months, meaning I’ve averaged close to 5 posts per month.  And that’s been fairly consistent:  I haven’t had times of being prolific followed by times of not writing anything and back-and-forth.  Same with word-count – posts have been no more than 1,000 words, no less than 600 words.

Although it’s been moderate and steady, the way I feel about the writing and the blog changes fairly drastically and frequently.  Sometimes I feel like I’m an objective observer, recording down what has transpired.  Other times, I have put so much of myself into what I write, that the process, and the feedback I get has helped boost me up through some really difficult times.  So, thank you, for all that feedback!  Sometimes I’ve felt like there isn’t much point to continuing; I have nothing to say.  Other times, I feel super good about this ongoing personal account of experiences that are valuable for others, and myself, to look into / look back on.

I’d say, currently, it’s mostly the first thing:  I’m an objective observer, writing down what is happening and feeling kind of distanced from it.  And that’s OK – it’s not going to always feel this way, I have learned.

So, in that vein, here’s that account I said I would write, of my first month being out, at work: A quick recap – I had talked to my supervisor, co-workers, 4 teachers, the principal, and the assistant principal.  I had also gotten things moving in the HR department, and we were just going into Xmas recess.  During that week when kids and teachers were out, I though it’d be a great time for my co-workers to start, while it was just us.  I wrote, ” I have a feeling my co-worker / ally will step up and lead it, followed by me correcting everyone every single time.”  The first day, my supervisor called me through the walkie talkie, “[old name], can you get a 20″ red pad?”  Me, “It’s going to be Kameron now.”   Long pause.  Her, “Kameron, can you get the 20″ red pad?”  Then when she saw me, she said, “You’re going to make me practice now?”  “Yeah!”  And we were off!  With, as I hoped, my co-worker leading.  But the thing was, I didn’t actually have to correct anyone.

When break was over and everyone was back, I told 8 more people in person, and also had a 2nd, much more productive, conversation with the principal.  More details are in the post, How I became “Mixter”.  We talked about how to come out and the timeline, how my name would appear on my name plate on the custodial office door, and bathrooms.  She told me I could think about these things and get back to her tomorrow.  That all sounded fine, but as I went about my cleaning routine that night, I thought about how tough it is to just catch her, and what if it’s a while before I am able to get back to her.  Plus the monthly faculty meeting was the following morning!!!  (And even though I don’t attend these, that’s a great place for school announcements.)

So, I left a note on her table that night, so that action could start rolling ASAP.  The note read:

1/3/16
Hey [Principal],

Here’s what I”m thinking:
Fac Meeting – a heads up about a forthcoming email
Email – That I’m changing my name and that I’m now using male pronouns (he/him/his)
Sign on Custodial Door – Mx. [last name] (pronounced Mixter).  I’m comfortable answering any questions about this.

also a recommendation if you one day have a transgender student:
A podcast called “How to be a Girl,” told from the point-of-view of a parent – with lots of input from her 8-year-old daughter (male to female).  They talk about school, friends, privacy, etc.  The parent is a great advocate.

Thank you!
-Kameron

There was some slight confusion in which the principal included all this information in the school-wide email, where, for example, I had only intended the podcast recommendation to be for her.  But, I realized, the fact everyone received all of the above was actually way better!  It gave people more context, which, I really really really think helped the information lodge into their brains better.  Like, I have not had to correct anyone, once!  Which is just completely blowing my mind.  People seem more into addressing me by my name than before.  Some people have decided to call me “Kam,” instead, of their own volition, which I’m OK with – it’s just plain fascinating.  (My one co-worker / ally has been calling me, “Killa Kam” for a while now.  Haha.)

A barrier between me and other people has definitely started to lift, just within this past month.  I have had more conversations with more people about a wider variety of things than ever before.  This is what being a person within a work environment is mostly about.  The connections are what make it something more than just a random assortment of people that you (seemingly) have nothing in common with.

I wanna just keep running with this!

PS:  This post has 882 words.  Haha.
PPS:  Posts coming soon about this amazing podcast, “How to be a Girl.”