0:00:14.057,0:00:17.207
My name is Samuel Bernstein,[br]I'm 15 years old,

0:00:17.207,0:00:19.041
and I am transgender.

0:00:21.016,0:00:23.781
When I was younger,[br]I was told I was a girl.

0:00:24.455,0:00:27.880
I accepted it because I didn't think[br]I was allowed to be anything else.

0:00:28.668,0:00:31.000
But then my body started to change.

0:00:31.429,0:00:33.334
I could tell you I was hitting puberty,

0:00:33.334,0:00:35.746
but it felt like puberty was hitting me.

0:00:37.112,0:00:38.865
They told me I was becoming a woman.

0:00:39.497,0:00:40.540
I accepted it

0:00:40.540,0:00:43.290
because I didn't think[br]I was allowed to be anything else.

0:00:43.411,0:00:45.000
But I was no longer myself.

0:00:46.029,0:00:48.640
I became irritable[br]and pushed away my friends.

0:00:49.269,0:00:51.380
I began having panic attacks

0:00:51.380,0:00:54.200
in hidden school backrooms[br]for hours at a time.

0:00:54.861,0:00:57.090
I no longer knew what "happy" felt like.

0:00:59.247,0:01:01.170
By the time I was 13,

0:01:01.877,0:01:04.990
I was carving my pain into my own skin,

0:01:04.990,0:01:07.160
and I didn't want to be alive anymore.

0:01:08.510,0:01:10.770
I was miserable, but I didn't know why.

0:01:13.066,0:01:17.402
One day I sat in a psychiatrist's office,[br]as he asked me to define my own gender.

0:01:18.059,0:01:19.304
I told him I was a girl

0:01:19.304,0:01:21.980
because I didn't think[br]I was allowed to be anything else.

0:01:22.271,0:01:24.650
But that night, I was still[br]stock on that question.

0:01:25.000,0:01:28.793
I went online and started exploring[br]and came across the word transgender.

0:01:29.030,0:01:30.445
I'd never heard it before.

0:01:30.898,0:01:32.346
Transgender:

0:01:32.346,0:01:36.572
someone who identifies with a gender, [br]other than the one assigned at birth.

0:01:37.359,0:01:40.170
Immediately, I knew exactly who I was.

0:01:40.825,0:01:43.981
That same night,[br]I told my mom I wasn't a girl.

0:01:44.138,0:01:48.180
And instantly, I felt the fulfillment[br]I haven't felt in years.

0:01:48.608,0:01:53.590
My entire personality started to change,[br]as I began to express who I truly was.

0:01:54.177,0:01:55.619
I was happy again.

0:01:56.994,0:02:00.180
I'm not telling you all of my very,[br]very personal story today

0:02:00.180,0:02:01.752
so that you will feel bad for me.

0:02:02.313,0:02:05.244
I am telling my story because I have to.

0:02:07.514,0:02:10.832
For many people,[br]transgender is a scary word.

0:02:11.664,0:02:13.710
Most people don't know[br]what it really means,

0:02:13.710,0:02:14.778
and even if they do,

0:02:14.778,0:02:16.891
they're very uncomfortable[br]talking about it.

0:02:17.345,0:02:19.060
So that's why, I'm here today,

0:02:19.654,0:02:22.953
to prove that like everybody else here,

0:02:22.967,0:02:27.620
I'm just a person, whose identity[br]deserves recognition and respect.

0:02:28.263,0:02:30.160
Because while you may be scared of me,

0:02:30.498,0:02:33.000
you do not realize[br]that I'm scared of you too.

0:02:35.462,0:02:37.760
When I began to express[br]who I actually was,

0:02:37.760,0:02:39.468
I thought the hard part was over,

0:02:39.806,0:02:41.580
I thought that I'd discovered myself,

0:02:41.580,0:02:44.101
and all my struggles [br]would just magically go away

0:02:44.101,0:02:46.746
because I could live as my true gender.

0:02:47.326,0:02:49.400
But I was so wrong.

0:02:50.403,0:02:51.931
I am scared.

0:02:52.662,0:02:54.902
I am scared of not being accepted,

0:02:55.914,0:02:59.295
I am scared of being harassed[br]in public bathrooms.

0:03:00.446,0:03:03.680
I am scared of doctors[br]not knowing how to treat me.

0:03:04.496,0:03:08.730
I am scared of growing up[br]and facing workplace discrimination.

0:03:09.912,0:03:12.440
I am scared that in this world,

0:03:12.440,0:03:15.946
my legal rights could literally[br]be ripped away from me

0:03:15.946,0:03:17.140
at any moment.

0:03:18.280,0:03:23.080
I am scared that some people[br]may never see me as a real man.

0:03:24.414,0:03:25.535
I am scared,

0:03:26.190,0:03:27.677
not only for myself,

0:03:28.320,0:03:32.750
but for every single transgender[br]person living in this world,

0:03:32.757,0:03:35.020
especially transgender women,

0:03:35.570,0:03:37.700
non-binary transgender people,

0:03:38.574,0:03:40.217
disabled trans people,

0:03:40.600,0:03:42.075
trans people of color,

0:03:42.683,0:03:44.439
and queer trans people,

0:03:44.439,0:03:50.875
who will face so much more discrimination[br]and ignorance and hate in this world,

0:03:50.880,0:03:55.280
than I, a straight, white,[br]transgender male, will ever have to.

0:03:56.428,0:03:59.550
Even so, I am scared.

0:03:59.995,0:04:01.985
We are scared.

0:04:02.706,0:04:04.237
But we shouldn't have to be.

0:04:05.416,0:04:07.604
Transgender should not be a scary word.

0:04:08.374,0:04:12.543
No identity should ever be scary[br]or weird or shameful.

0:04:14.000,0:04:16.830
We, as people, need to come together.

0:04:17.679,0:04:20.060
We need to celebrate diversity,

0:04:20.060,0:04:21.332
but in doing so,

0:04:21.332,0:04:24.100
we need to focus less[br]on what makes us different

0:04:24.100,0:04:26.510
and focus more[br]on what makes us the same.

0:04:27.278,0:04:31.700
Because under all of the beautiful layers[br]of what makes us who we are

0:04:31.700,0:04:32.940
is just a person,

0:04:32.940,0:04:37.017
who wants to be loved[br]and accepted as themselves.

0:04:38.084,0:04:39.732
This is a hard world to live in,

0:04:40.250,0:04:41.320
not just for me,

0:04:41.936,0:04:43.830
not just for transgender people,

0:04:44.265,0:04:45.624
but for everybody.

0:04:46.185,0:04:48.068
We all have good days and bad days.

0:04:48.445,0:04:51.191
We all have conflicts and pains.

0:04:51.571,0:04:53.429
We all struggle.

0:04:53.429,0:04:57.091
But most importantly,[br]we are all trying to persevere.

0:04:58.223,0:04:59.466
So I ask all of you,

0:05:00.054,0:05:03.703
what is the point of using our energy[br]to hate on each other,

0:05:03.703,0:05:06.889
when we could be using it to help,[br]and support each other.

0:05:08.223,0:05:11.080
If your answer, like mine,[br]is "I don't know,"

0:05:11.080,0:05:14.229
then I urge you to consider[br]what you can do to make a difference.

0:05:15.006,0:05:16.879
Let people tell their stories.

0:05:17.508,0:05:18.570
Listen.

0:05:19.379,0:05:21.252
Let people share their needs.

0:05:21.887,0:05:23.441
Respect them.

0:05:23.951,0:05:27.600
Encourage people[br]to live their happiest lives.

0:05:27.600,0:05:30.179
And please, most importantly,

0:05:30.179,0:05:33.511
just treat people[br]the way you want to be treated.

0:05:33.953,0:05:35.040
Thank you.

0:05:35.040,0:05:39.025
(Applause)