Goodbye You Matter, Hello World

It’s hard to believe that this time one year ago I applying to be a part of the Spring 2015 You Matter blogger council. A closeted transman, I started out blogging as a queer woman. I wrote about being depressed, having anxiety and myriad other topics.

About 3/4ths of the way through the session, I came out to Ashley, the editor of the You Matter blog. We agreed that I’d finish out the session as the name I’d started as. A few weeks later, I got a call from Ashley asking if I’d want to be You Matter’s first trans blogger under an anonymous identity.

I remember feeling so honored and special to be given this opportunity. I also felt incredibly shocked – why me? Am I really the right person for this position? I’m not “big” enough in the trans community to do this.

And you know what? At the time I wasn’t a very big person in my community; I didn’t feel like I could do this position and my community justice.

But I knew this was just my low confidence and fears talking. So I shut that voice up and accepted the position.

Man, am I glad I did!

Blogging for YM has given me a safe space to talk about my mental illnesses, my addiction and my trans identity. I know I’ve made a difference in people’s lives by doing this, and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. (You can read all of Parker’s posts here.)

With that being said, life is pulling me away from You Matter. I have been granted several other opportunities to share my story and connect with my community. I’m vlogging for Our Trans Lives, I’ve started my own support blog for the transmasculine community and I’m spending more time focusing on my own mental health and wellness.

For those of you who have reached out to me or plan to in the future, I am going to keep my Parker Twitter @NotPeter_Parker and email [email protected] up. Please feel free to reach out to me whenever you need. I’m still here for each and everyone of you despite not blogging for You Matter on a regular basis.

On that note, thank you all for the love and support I’ve received since being a part of You Matter. Stay strong my butterflies. And remember…YOU MATTER!