Aug. 29, 2025

From Gaming to Life: Jay Gets Real About Transitioning - Error Code Show

From Gaming to Life: Jay Gets Real About Transitioning - Error Code Show
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From Gaming to Life: Jay Gets Real About Transitioning - Error Code Show

Each week we give you breakdowns, debates, analysis, Easter eggs, and video essays about your favorite games, TV shows, music, movies and more. Especially if your favorites include superhero movies and Star Wars. You can add your opinion and join us LIVE each week over on our Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/humanoidhq or our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@errorcodeshow

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In this special segment, Jay shares their personal transition story—what the process has been like, the challenges, the wins, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s an honest, candid conversation about identity, growth, and community support. Whether you’re going through your own journey, supporting a loved one, or just curious, Jay’s story is real, raw, and full of insight. ✨ If this resonates with you, drop a comment, share your story, and subscribe for more conversations that go beyond the games and media we cover each week.

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WEBVTT

00:00:01.659 --> 00:00:04.599
Last week, we kind of ended the show with a huge

00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:10.119
cliffhanger and yeah, that's it. Any questions?

00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:15.980
No kidding. Okay. So yeah, last week there was

00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:22.219
a question, you know, asking what are our genders?

00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:26.600
And we stated them. Some people had some questions

00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.379
and we didn't really answer that. We just kind

00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:30.640
of like dropped it. We were like, Tune in next

00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.280
week. Have fun by which dog dad has pointed out

00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.299
in chat already. You know, hey, I thought we

00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:39.859
were going to talk about this. We were we were

00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:43.079
just waiting for waiting for more people to kind

00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:45.299
of come in. Because right around this time, I

00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:48.020
think is like kind of when we peak on Twitch

00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:54.219
and YouTube and stuff. So anyways, yeah. So I

00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:59.289
think a lot of people were kind of Shocked, I

00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:02.030
guess when I said like, yeah, my pronouns are

00:01:02.030 --> 00:01:05.790
they them? Especially since for the majority

00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:11.090
of this show, I'm. Yeah, I had a pretty big beard

00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:14.290
and I was as Alex put a pretty big guy. I think

00:01:14.290 --> 00:01:16.109
I think the beard thing was the first thing that

00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:19.590
really shocked them. I think that was the bird

00:01:19.590 --> 00:01:21.870
to be fair, the first week that you had shaved

00:01:21.870 --> 00:01:24.510
the beard, that was that was where everybody

00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:31.780
went, huh? What's up? Yeah, and I even had at

00:01:31.780 --> 00:01:39.500
work the director of marketing say, oh my gosh,

00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:44.239
you shaved your beard. That is pretty much your

00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:49.540
brand. And I was like, yeah. And he was like,

00:01:49.579 --> 00:01:52.819
and I know you're in MBA school and changing

00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:55.939
your brand can be kind of a hard thing to do.

00:01:56.409 --> 00:01:59.209
Also not getting on a tangent here, but if you

00:01:59.209 --> 00:02:01.849
look at how Cracker Barrel tried to change their

00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:04.450
band brand, it didn't really work out. They lost

00:02:04.450 --> 00:02:06.849
over a hundred million dollars very quickly.

00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:11.770
By the way, by the way, by the way. That's a

00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:15.409
crazy story that I can't wait to talk about and

00:02:15.409 --> 00:02:19.469
probably like my next MBA class. But because

00:02:19.469 --> 00:02:24.990
I know that's going to come up. Yeah. So they

00:02:24.990 --> 00:02:28.659
then. Where did that come from? Well, pretty

00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:34.659
much. Alex is really pushing for five thousand

00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:37.139
subs on YouTube, and he said the only way we're

00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:39.900
going to get there is if we have if it's not

00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:43.280
two guys on this podcast. So here we are. I had

00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.000
nothing to do with this. I'm kidding. That was

00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:54.599
a joke. But. Yeah, so a long story short. I am

00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.960
just exploring my gender, which a lot of people

00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:03.039
probably are not going to understand that. Like,

00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:08.060
what does that mean? And honestly, like, I don't

00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:11.599
even know fully what that means. I have been

00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:15.580
asked why now, you know, you're in your you're

00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:18.780
like mid thirties. Why are you exploring your

00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.530
gender now? Typically? That's something that

00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:26.490
happens like in your 20s I am and the easy answer

00:03:26.490 --> 00:03:32.009
here is Yeah, I grew up in Florida so when my

00:03:32.009 --> 00:03:34.729
doctor my doctor literally asked my doctor and

00:03:34.729 --> 00:03:38.050
this was probably the most Uncomfortable thing

00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:40.949
I have so far went through in my doctor asked,

00:03:40.949 --> 00:03:45.710
you know why now I am But as soon as I said,

00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:49.250
well, I'm from Florida I just recently moved

00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:51.889
to the Seattle area. He literally was like, oh,

00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:56.250
yeah, OK, never mind. That makes sense. Growing

00:03:56.250 --> 00:04:02.389
up in northwest Florida. You don't really explore

00:04:02.389 --> 00:04:06.969
things like this. Some people do. I had a few

00:04:06.969 --> 00:04:12.590
few of my friends go through this. And it did

00:04:12.590 --> 00:04:16.269
not go well for them. They were bullied, they

00:04:16.269 --> 00:04:20.790
were harassed. They were disowned. They were

00:04:20.790 --> 00:04:24.550
kicked out of their houses. And then they finally

00:04:24.550 --> 00:04:28.670
left Florida to come to a few of them came to

00:04:28.670 --> 00:04:31.990
the promised land of Seattle. That's kind of

00:04:31.990 --> 00:04:36.069
what put Seattle a little bit on the map, but

00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:38.250
then also just traveling in general. My wife

00:04:38.250 --> 00:04:42.629
and I came out here at least three times on vacation

00:04:42.629 --> 00:04:50.750
before we decided to move. But Like, yeah, it's

00:04:50.750 --> 00:04:56.089
exploring my gender. I can say. First of all,

00:04:56.209 --> 00:04:58.470
Alex, do you have any questions so far or are

00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.629
there any questions in chat that you want to

00:05:01.629 --> 00:05:04.569
ask? Mostly, I'm seeing a lot of support in chat.

00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:07.949
A lot of people are saying I'll read off. Your

00:05:07.949 --> 00:05:10.209
journey is your journey. Jake West bravely venture

00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:13.029
boldly. Tip says they figured you were in self

00:05:13.029 --> 00:05:15.009
discovery mode, which I don't think is a bad

00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:18.709
way to put it. Somebody else in YouTube chat

00:05:18.709 --> 00:05:20.769
said facial hair is a bra for your jaw. Feels

00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:23.509
great to whip it off, which I loved. That was

00:05:23.509 --> 00:05:27.949
that was a good one. Mostly, again, the beard

00:05:27.949 --> 00:05:31.829
was the the shocking part. So far, again, a lot

00:05:31.829 --> 00:05:35.870
of a lot of support coming out of the chat. Yeah,

00:05:35.889 --> 00:05:42.370
well, thank you guys. I'm. Yeah, growing up,

00:05:42.870 --> 00:05:48.939
I am. I can say this. So my mother passed away

00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:54.000
three years ago. I grew up with my father. My

00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:00.480
father had a complete 100 % custody of me when

00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:03.579
I was in, I don't know, elementary school. I

00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:09.980
want to say around like the third grade. When

00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.500
my mother, just before my mother passed away,

00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:20.000
She felt so horrible. I am and she told me she

00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.839
was like, you know, I feel I feel really bad.

00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:28.779
I feel like I left you and and I knew how your

00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:34.379
father was and and how he could be very abusive.

00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.160
I am and she said she was like, you know, when

00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.379
you were a kid, I thought we had hung out too

00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:45.639
much. So supposedly my mother would dress me

00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:49.740
up as a girl, put makeup on me. And I wanted

00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:56.240
to do girl things when I was a kid. So she she

00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.660
was like, I, you know, we thought you were gay

00:06:58.660 --> 00:07:05.079
as a child. But. This was this is kind of funny,

00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:08.360
but also really not. She was I think you playing

00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.199
soccer and then you going to church really helped

00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.879
you. And you became like the man you are today.

00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:17.100
And that was like a huge knife into my side.

00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:23.319
I was like, oh crap. Because I do remember I

00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:28.300
am in elementary school. I made the mistake of

00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:32.279
asking there was like some sort of. Well, I don't

00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.639
know some sort of like limited doll, limited

00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.259
edition doll, and I asked for it for Christmas

00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:40.420
and it did not go over well. Let's just say that

00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:45.490
and. I'm growing up with my father. So I will

00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:49.610
say, I come from a military family without being

00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:52.569
a military family, if that makes sense. So my

00:07:52.569 --> 00:07:55.170
father wasn't in the military by the time I was

00:07:55.170 --> 00:07:59.230
born, but both my grandparents were in the military.

00:08:00.069 --> 00:08:03.930
One side was a Marine. One side was a Ranger

00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:09.470
in World War II. My father was in the Army. And

00:08:09.470 --> 00:08:12.569
then my father became a police officer in Detroit

00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:16.790
during the 70s and then moved down to Florida

00:08:16.790 --> 00:08:22.970
and had me. So there is this my father also comes

00:08:22.970 --> 00:08:31.189
from the farm kind of lifestyle. So my father

00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:35.009
raised me how he thought I should be raised.

00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:41.259
I think he saw a couple of things. I think he

00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:45.159
saw a kid that was more like my mother than him

00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.960
and he did not like that. And also I think he

00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:53.159
saw a kid that growing up I was always really

00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:56.320
small and you could yell at me and I would just

00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:02.419
cry. So he saw like kind of a weak kid that needed

00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:04.820
to be tough enough if I was going to go out into

00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:09.460
the world. So, yeah, and that's what he kind

00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:14.200
of set out to do. So if I got in trouble for

00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:16.460
something stupid, like if I made a bad grade

00:09:16.460 --> 00:09:22.960
in a class, I would be punished for that physically.

00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:27.960
And then once he was done, he would say, OK,

00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:32.600
now I'm going to punish you for crying. So I

00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:37.860
grew up. Really quickly learning not to be myself

00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:42.320
If I was going to survive I had to be who my

00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:46.620
dad wanted me to be I had to be who? Everyone

00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:50.600
else wanted me to be I am this worked out really

00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:54.960
really great growing up I became very popular

00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:59.440
had a lot of friends Even when I graduated I

00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.799
was able to get a job move up really quickly

00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:06.279
because if you If you work for like a corporation

00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:10.039
and you say I'll be whoever you want me to be.

00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.240
And I'll work however many hours a week you want

00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:19.039
me to work. You're going to move up. Yeah. And

00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.840
you're you're reinforced. Right. I mean I went

00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:26.299
from living in a trailer growing up in a trailer

00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:30.860
growing up homeless to then all of a sudden buying

00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:35.809
a house at the age of 21. You get all of these

00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:37.850
things. You buy the nice car that you want to

00:10:37.850 --> 00:10:40.009
get. You buy all the things you want to get.

00:10:41.950 --> 00:10:45.870
You do all the things that you're supposed to

00:10:45.870 --> 00:10:49.750
do. You go out, you get married, you get a fancy

00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:55.090
engineering degree. But no matter what you do,

00:10:56.070 --> 00:11:01.929
you're never really, truly happy. And I think

00:11:01.929 --> 00:11:08.100
a couple of things happened. One. My entire family

00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:11.220
like passed away. So my father passed away. My

00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:15.559
mother passed away. And then we left Florida.

00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.720
And I think once I got into a safe environment

00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.559
where people asked me like I don't like I'm not

00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.679
going to tell you who you are. Like I want to

00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:29.200
know who you are. And once I started, you know,

00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:33.529
kind of being involved with like LGBT Councils

00:11:33.529 --> 00:11:36.389
and stuff like that. I started opening up a little

00:11:36.389 --> 00:11:40.450
bit more and Obviously going through a lot of

00:11:40.450 --> 00:11:45.929
therapy I decided to start exploring my gender

00:11:45.929 --> 00:11:48.490
that I didn't really have the courage to when

00:11:48.490 --> 00:11:53.669
I was younger so I'm gonna pause there Alex.

00:11:53.789 --> 00:11:58.750
What do you think? I mean this obviously this

00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:05.940
this is not about me I have known about this

00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:08.779
for a little while not like forever, but for

00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:14.240
a little while Let me let me chime back in with

00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:18.500
some chat stuff for you though Somebody chat

00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:22.080
said they hope they're not out of line, but your

00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:29.019
dad sounds like an asshole You know Somebody

00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:31.299
said they're glad you got out of Florida. It

00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:35.279
won't be safe until Miami like breaks off to

00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:37.700
the Caribbean and everyone north of Miami Dade

00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:40.740
and Proud Counties runs like is gone migrates

00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.679
north. Semi serious question. Did the movie Fight

00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:49.980
Club speak to you? Right. I I've always really

00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:53.820
liked Fight Club. I'm I'm kind of curious like

00:12:53.820 --> 00:13:00.259
why. Like. Why why the question I don't know

00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:04.000
Very good question. Oh, I I love that movie.

00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:08.419
I've seen it probably like a hundred times I

00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.620
mean I was gonna make a con that I I'm gonna

00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:15.279
backtrack that one joke there, but I'm leaving

00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:18.919
that one Hurray therapy fantasy football for

00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:21.840
your feelings. I like that one. That's a good

00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:29.000
one Yeah, so again a lot of a lot of support

00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.720
coming from our chat. Thank you chat for being

00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:34.879
so supportive and an understanding of this it's

00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:36.940
you know, again, we've been kind of mulling this

00:13:36.940 --> 00:13:39.820
one for a couple of weeks couple three weeks

00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:43.159
now about when to talk about it and then somebody

00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:45.240
asked last week in the chat what Jay's pronouns

00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:48.220
were and Jay just to clarify because I don't

00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:50.960
think we've we've kind of put a Hard button on

00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.480
that and somebody else did ask in the chat. Are

00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:57.480
we are we sticky with they them for now? Yeah,

00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:02.220
so they them I'm You know, I've I've I've been

00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:05.720
asked a lot for like, you know, oh, do you think

00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:07.940
you're like non -binary? Do you think you're

00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:12.580
trans? Do you think your gender fluid? And I

00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:16.440
don't know honestly, I really don't I'm I'm just

00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.899
sticking with they them for now and I will say

00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:26.590
I am I changed at work. So my work is I They're

00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:29.730
a huge advocate for like pronouns putting your

00:14:29.730 --> 00:14:32.809
pronouns and your email signature Stuff like

00:14:32.809 --> 00:14:36.730
that. Um, so I sent an email to the Kind of a

00:14:36.730 --> 00:14:38.809
group of people I work with the closest letting

00:14:38.809 --> 00:14:42.110
them know that I was changing My pronouns today

00:14:42.110 --> 00:14:47.629
them very very brief reasoning why? Nothing this

00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:55.019
detailed And I primarily did that Because I like

00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:59.740
to joke around a lot I'm always like, I don't

00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:02.940
know the one that's making jokes laughing having

00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:08.440
a good time and I didn't want to Do something

00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:12.340
like wear more feminine clothing to work and

00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:15.000
then someone think it's a joke and like oh ha

00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.220
ha like like look at Jay like That's so funny

00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:24.799
and it's like no not a joke Primarily for kind

00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.360
of kind of to notify everyone like hey, this

00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:29.340
isn't a joke like I'm going through this like

00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:34.259
kind of Exploring phase which everyone I work

00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:37.740
was super supportive I am I really work at like

00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:44.399
a amazing place with amazing people Yeah, they

00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:47.259
them for now I'm still going through therapy

00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:53.190
obviously and I have been now for I think like

00:15:53.190 --> 00:15:58.370
four years now every Friday, but yeah, so I don't

00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:01.250
I don't know where it'll go. But yeah, they them

00:16:01.250 --> 00:16:05.179
for now. Adding to the the question that you

00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.399
asked about why I asked about Fight Club The

00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:09.039
response was there's a part where Tyler Durden

00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.759
talks about his dad's advice, you know, his dad

00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.519
said go to college Okay, been to college now

00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.639
what get a career? Okay got a career now what

00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:17.840
get married? Okay. Now what you know what you

00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:21.679
were saying earlier in your your talk here Apparently

00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.159
made them think of that. So that makes sense,

00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:32.259
you know, okay I see the parallel now chat Yeah

00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:36.700
All right. So yeah, that that does make sense.

00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:42.279
And yeah, again, I think it was you're kind of

00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:44.919
taught like, oh, if you do this, you'll be happy,

00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:47.120
right? Like if you buy a house, you'll be happy.

00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:50.899
If you get that promotion, you'll be happy. If

00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:55.500
you get a I don't know, a harder degree, right?

00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:57.240
Like an engineering degree, you're going to get

00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.440
a nice job. You're going to be happy. Well, maybe

00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:02.139
if you move out of Florida, you're going to be

00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:10.579
happy. And that's not really the case. And that

00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:13.440
was like one thing that I first started going

00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.759
to therapy for was like, I feel like I'm just

00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:21.440
going to the next milestone. Like. OK, like now,

00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:23.759
what do I need to do? Like, I'm not happy. What

00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:27.349
do I need to do now? Is it? Getting my masters.

00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:30.569
Will that make me happy? Will I get if I get

00:17:30.569 --> 00:17:35.309
my PhD? Will I be happy? If I move up in the

00:17:35.309 --> 00:17:37.609
company that I'm currently out, will I be happy?

00:17:38.650 --> 00:17:41.410
So you keep looking externally for things that

00:17:41.410 --> 00:17:45.970
will make you happy. And yeah, I realized very

00:17:45.970 --> 00:17:49.130
quickly that I was getting worn out. I was getting

00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:54.200
worn out and physically like my health. It's

00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:56.160
kind of like, I don't want to say like declining,

00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.140
right? But like, I am the most out of shape I

00:18:00.140 --> 00:18:04.880
am now that I ever been in my life. So I'm like

00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:09.480
six one, right? I used to be like 140 pounds,

00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:14.140
which is way too skinny. But now I'm like 240,

00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:19.220
which is a lot more. I will say I was on the

00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:23.819
soccer team and I ran track. So Oddly enough,

00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:26.099
when you stop running like 10 miles a day, you're

00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:31.759
going to start gaining weight. But yeah, I just

00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:35.559
kind of. And I think also the thing that really

00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.579
hit me out here really hard when I first moved

00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:42.140
out here, because we moved. We moved into our

00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:49.619
place. Halloween 2021. 2021 was a very tough

00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:52.460
gray period. Our neighbors told us like, oh,

00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:56.740
that was a very abnormal, like more gray than

00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:00.500
usual. I did not know you're supposed to take

00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.720
like vitamin D supplements. And from Florida,

00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:08.400
what the heck are vitamin D supplements? So I

00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:13.279
became very depressed pretty quickly. Part of

00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:16.160
it seasonal depression, part of it also just

00:19:17.790 --> 00:19:20.769
Not really knowing what I'm supposed to do with

00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:26.150
my life, right? I am And yeah, I think I think

00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:28.150
I reached a moment where I was like something

00:19:28.150 --> 00:19:33.670
has to change right like I I don't think I can

00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.210
keep going on the way that I'm currently going

00:19:36.210 --> 00:19:42.490
on like Oddly enough. I'm going to therapy which

00:19:42.490 --> 00:19:50.049
I couldn't really do I'm When my dad, for instance,

00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:54.670
was alive. And again, if you've never lived in

00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:57.430
the South, the South is like the polar opposite

00:19:57.430 --> 00:20:03.349
of the Pacific Northwest. No one talks about

00:20:03.349 --> 00:20:06.329
mental health. You're not supposed to talk about

00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:12.430
mental health. Like my father, I grew up listening

00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:15.349
to my father make fun of people who went to therapy.

00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:22.240
So waste of money, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, you

00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.559
don't place like places that you work at. They

00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.160
don't have mental health programs. They don't

00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:31.640
talk about it. You're not supposed to be yourself

00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.460
at work either. Like you show up to be the person

00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:37.559
that they want you like you show up and you become

00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:40.099
the person that they want you to be. And then

00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:42.420
when you leave work, you can be your your own

00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:47.119
person. Polar opposite from but the Pacific Northwest

00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.099
from what I've experienced so far So yeah, I

00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:53.980
was able to kind of get into therapy But the

00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.160
more therapy I had I I felt like I was getting

00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:01.099
like more and more depressed. Um so I realized

00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:04.500
like something had to change like I need to Kind

00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:06.900
of figure out who I am if I'm ever going to be

00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:13.789
happy. Um So yeah, Florida sucks I know some

00:21:13.789 --> 00:21:17.210
of you are probably wondering So I have mentioned

00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:20.089
that I'm married. I do have a wife. Like what

00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:22.970
does that? What does all of this mean to her?

00:21:23.869 --> 00:21:28.650
I will say somehow right somehow I have found

00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:35.789
an amazing person I am And she we've talked obviously

00:21:35.789 --> 00:21:38.490
a lot and she was like, you know, you deserve

00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:43.680
to be happy Even if you transitioned, right?

00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:48.099
Even if you started growing boobs and she was

00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:50.640
like, I would prefer you not to, right? Like

00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:54.559
I'm not like attracted to women, but even if

00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.759
you grew boobs, I'm not going anywhere. Like

00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:01.079
you're still the same person I fell in love with.

00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:03.519
You're still the same person I love. It might

00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:05.740
be a little awkward when we lean in and kiss

00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:08.680
each other and I feel boobs press against me,

00:22:08.779 --> 00:22:11.900
but I'm not going anywhere. So I was like, okay,

00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:18.619
which obviously, if you come out to your to your

00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:22.299
wife, and you're having these thoughts, you know,

00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:27.099
I was kind of prepared for like a divorce. And

00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:29.660
I try to make sure that like, I would understand

00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:31.640
you like I try to make sure that she understood

00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:34.380
that I like I understood like, Hey, totally get

00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:37.759
this. Like if you're not into this if you want

00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.180
to leave that's fine We can still be friends

00:22:40.180 --> 00:22:41.839
everything like that. Like I don't want to feel

00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.500
like you're I don't want to make you feel like

00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:47.740
you're trapped in this at all But no, she's been

00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:51.900
super supportive Everyone has been super supportive,

00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:56.400
which is kind of surprising. I I'm not gonna

00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.900
lie. I was expecting Career was over at work.

00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:02.039
I'm gonna lose all my friends. I'm gonna get

00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:04.240
a divorce. I'm gonna become homeless and see

00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.579
I had all like boom, whole life changes. And

00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:10.839
I think that's a lot of one coming from Florida,

00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:13.319
but then also like the fears of like just thinking

00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:16.019
about everything for, you know, your entire life.

00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:18.240
You kind of think things are going to go one

00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:22.500
way and you're often that's not the case. So

00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:27.519
that is good. What is Alex, what's chat saying

00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:33.920
now? Mostly that Florida sucks. Yeah, mostly

00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:35.640
Florida sucks. There's a lot of there's there's

00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:39.539
a lot of Florida sucks in the chat, which I can't

00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:42.240
I can't rightly disagree with Florida kind of

00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.980
sucks and we don't like it because it's Florida

00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:48.359
and Florida I don't go through Florida for a

00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:52.259
reason. I've been to Florida I have no desire

00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:54.599
to go back to Florida at this current point in

00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:59.160
time For many many reasons, but yeah, it's a

00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.460
lot right now. We're a lot of Florida sucks again

00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:05.920
A lot of people are kind of like echoing your

00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.339
your thing about self -fulfillment, right? And

00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:09.880
and you know, oh this thing's gonna make him

00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:13.740
but what's gonna make you happy? You know a lot

00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:15.660
of people happy for you and again, it's it's

00:24:15.660 --> 00:24:18.160
it's a lot of I think a lot of understanding

00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.960
I Think that there are a lot I think that the

00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:25.400
number of people Whether it's and it's not always

00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:29.759
necessarily sexuality but I think that the number

00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:33.240
of people who at varying times in their lives

00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:36.380
for whatever reason struggle with a sense of

00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:39.599
identity right and I think that that's that's

00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:43.279
that's most we focus on it a lot these days when

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:45.460
it comes to gender identity and sexual identity

00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:47.480
and things like that but I don't think that that's

00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.460
the only place it stems from and I think we would

00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:52.400
have a lot more understanding for people in the

00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:56.539
lgbtq plus community if if we frame it more from

00:24:56.539 --> 00:24:59.240
a position of everybody kind of struggles with

00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:03.259
identity who the fuck am I right like as a as

00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:07.640
a core thing and for some people that's sexuality

00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:09.539
for some it's gender for some something else

00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.799
so again i think there's a lot of people who

00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:14.019
whether they've they've done it in the form of

00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:16.039
of sexual or gender identity and i'm not speaking

00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:17.759
for anybody in the chat i think there's a lot

00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.299
of people who are going yeah i i don't i've gone

00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:24.839
through points in my life where i did not feel

00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:27.640
that sense of i feel comfortable in my own skin

00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:30.700
with who i am right and I think a lot of people

00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:33.839
go through that and and I think that that's why

00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:35.380
again I think we're getting some of the reaction

00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:37.980
that we're getting uh from chat again I think

00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:40.160
it's it's a lot of understanding again I I think

00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:41.579
that the way that you put it is really really

00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:45.119
good I think that a lot it you know and you and

00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.099
I I think had this discussion a while ago where

00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:50.920
where my theory has always been a lot of it is

00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:54.259
exposure and a lot of it is how you're introduced

00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:59.900
to the LGBTQ Plus community right and and that

00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:03.299
that manner in which you are first because I

00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:04.960
think I told you about the first time like I

00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.680
Knew that I was around trans people and the environment

00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:12.819
that I was in and how that came to be Made it

00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:15.539
a lot easier for me to be like, okay. This is

00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:19.000
this is fine. This is normal like Yeah, cool,

00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:22.289
right And I, you know, I could, I could get myself

00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:24.450
into that frame of mind and not look back. And

00:26:24.450 --> 00:26:26.650
I think that, again, I think that, that stories

00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:29.990
like yours, situations like this, where you can,

00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:34.589
you can draw those parallels and explain it,

00:26:34.730 --> 00:26:36.750
I think puts it into a perspective for people

00:26:36.750 --> 00:26:40.390
that again, I don't think happens enough. If

00:26:40.390 --> 00:26:48.250
that makes sense. Yeah. I think, I think it totally

00:26:48.250 --> 00:26:52.000
does. And That's the really sad reality of Florida

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.059
is that you have all these people are going through

00:26:56.059 --> 00:26:59.680
like. When you grow up in a place like northwest

00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:03.000
Florida, which is really just the south. It's

00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:06.900
the south. Yeah. In the south, you think you're

00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:08.960
like the only one going through it. You think

00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:14.559
you're the only. Weirdo, right? Like that's feeling

00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:18.059
this way or going through this when you're really

00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:24.950
not like. I Yeah, it's it's kind of crazy there

00:27:24.950 --> 00:27:30.369
was a study that came out I am When I was in

00:27:30.369 --> 00:27:35.390
engineering school at FSU I am I think it was

00:27:35.390 --> 00:27:38.829
something like 50 % of all engineering students

00:27:38.829 --> 00:27:42.490
were like Depressed and then like a lower number

00:27:42.490 --> 00:27:46.509
was like suicidal. I am which is crazy because

00:27:46.509 --> 00:27:49.839
no one talks about it like No one talks about

00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:53.000
it. And I started advocating for mental health

00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:58.500
when I was at FSU. I got out of Florida pretty

00:27:58.500 --> 00:28:01.200
much as soon as I graduated from engineering

00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:06.400
school from FSU. And I remember my best friend

00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:13.720
in college, insanely smart guy, finished like

00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:18.460
Magna Coolade. I said that right. But Yeah, incredibly

00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:23.220
smart my best friend I I told him like what I

00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:25.980
was not gender, but I told him like how depressed

00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:32.680
I was and he was like Holy crap, dude, like you

00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:36.200
like no one No one would ever think that you're

00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:39.440
going through anything like you were like the

00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:42.359
happiest guy like you're the guy that everyone

00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:45.660
looks to and They're like Jay has it figured

00:28:45.660 --> 00:28:50.019
out Jay is like he's on a path. He's on a war

00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:53.579
path He is happy. He is the one that's always

00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:58.000
like laughing and joking He's like uplifting

00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:02.799
everyone else and I would like I'll never forget

00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:08.039
it. He made a parallel between Myself and Robin

00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:09.920
Williams, and I don't want to compare myself

00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.779
to him at all Jesus, but because I think he's

00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:17.369
an amazing person But he was like you're like

00:29:17.369 --> 00:29:19.609
the person that makes everyone else laugh and

00:29:19.609 --> 00:29:24.309
feel happy and like at ease and then you're like

00:29:24.309 --> 00:29:27.490
super depressed and like struggling with like

00:29:27.490 --> 00:29:29.970
Suicidal thoughts and like no one no one knows

00:29:29.970 --> 00:29:33.589
it and I think This is a really sad thing for

00:29:33.589 --> 00:29:37.589
Florida that I'm really sad about is that everyone

00:29:37.589 --> 00:29:42.130
That could really make a change in Florida everyone

00:29:42.130 --> 00:29:46.970
that could change Florida, whether it be like

00:29:46.970 --> 00:29:50.490
mental health, whether it be LGBT or whatever.

00:29:52.470 --> 00:29:56.930
They leave Florida like no one is that I saw

00:29:56.930 --> 00:29:59.390
me personally. I don't think that's just a Florida

00:29:59.390 --> 00:30:01.829
problem. I think that's anywhere that's that's

00:30:01.829 --> 00:30:04.950
of that. That similar cultural thing, right?

00:30:05.029 --> 00:30:07.849
And they talk about like rural brain drain and

00:30:07.849 --> 00:30:10.950
kids not going back to rural communities all

00:30:10.950 --> 00:30:12.710
over the country. And I think that's that's definitely

00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:17.559
Why that happens and I'll be honest, I don't

00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:20.180
know what the solution there is I really don't

00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:30.480
I have no idea Anyway I think yeah Unfortunately,

00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.180
I don't think it'll ever change with everyone

00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:35.039
leaving but also I don't blame it anyone for

00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:40.200
for believing like you'd need to be happy Yeah,

00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:45.529
what's that is That is my story. That is the

00:30:45.529 --> 00:30:47.710
very long explanation of my pronouns