Today, I’m Julien. This is the name I chose in 2020, and this is the name that will continue to follow me. I’m not a new person — but an amalgamation of Madison and Madi and Drew and Jamie. Self-identity is a crazy, beautiful and fluid concept. No matter how you identify, remember to listen to yourself and your needs. No one is ever confined to a box — in fact, I encourage you to try to break out of it. Let yourself evolve — not into someone new, but into someone free.

Everyone comes out in different ways at different times in their life — over and over again. Sometimes people will be confused, and you have to go the extra step, but that’s okay. The lesson isn’t that people have to stop asking questions — it’s that they need to start asking themselves when and why they’re asking. People should still be able to feel like they’re the ones steering their own stories.