Changes
Jennifer was looking at a girl with green hair and tried to understand why her face seemed so familiar. As it turned out to be, “Green Hair” was Ashley LaPierre, a former student of Jennifer. All the woman could think was, “Wow, she’s really changed.” The irony of the situation was Jennifer had changed even more. Ashley LaPierre didn’t recognize her because when Ashley was a student at Colby, Jennifer was a man. Green hair couldn’t even be compared with Jennifer’s transformation. The strangest thing was that Jennifer both wanted and didn’t want Ashley to recognize her.
Strangers
James hadn’t known “the right definitions,” the word “transsexual” had been rarely mentioned back then. But even if he knew them, it wouldn’t have made “much difference” to him. Even now, “a discussion of transgendered people” resembles “nothing so much as a conversation about aliens.” People question if they are really “transgendered people” or not. “Has the government known about them for years and kept the whole business secret?” The most important question is, “what do they want?” The irony is that they want what the rest of us want. People dream about happiness and a right to be themselves.
Accepting
James thought that a talk with the children on the sex change was going to be the most difficult part. He was both afraid and confused. There weren’t guidelines for him to rely on. As soon as he gathered enough courage, he told Luke about everything. To James’ surprise, Luke just gave him a hug and said that he wouldn’t be “sad.” “You said you’d still be you,” the boy said. The irony is that children are far more accepting than we think. They are open-minded and open-hearted. If adults don’t teach them how to hate, they are going to be compassionate.
