Hello John,

I’m Alejandro. If you know me, you know that there’s something very simple, yet very powerful, that brings me joy: the confidence I have in myself. Confidence that It Gets Better helped me grow. 

This is Episode Two of our Joyathon, so sit back, relax, and soak up the self-love and joy with me! 

When I began my journey as a Youth Voice ambassador, I was 16 years old. Though I knew who and how I loved, I was still confused about how to love myself. Specifically, loving myself as a girl or a boy? I often struggled with my gender identity as a “female”, knowing deep inside that my gender journey didn’t end there.

Despite that constant internal monologue, I was still honored to tell my story with It Gets Better. I also found other stories with them, stories that sounded a little too familiar to just watch. I started seeing myself in those stories, and it wasn’t too long until I realized who I was, all with the help of It Gets Better. 

Making my “debut” in the second year of being a Youth Voice, I had a complete rebrand. I found my chosen name, Alejandro, and how to express myself in the way that was truest to me. There was pushback from some folks —  sometimes even myself. But whenever I spoke with my It Gets Better community, it only solidified who I was. The first time I used my chosen name publicly was on itgetsbetter.org: Alejandro, he/him — my official Youth Voices bio.

It Gets Better gave me the gift of being able to come out as my authentic self to my entire community — it allowed me to experience the rebirth of my new self in a celebratory way.

Even though I can’t give everyone the joy of coming out in such an inspiring and supportive way, I can give them the joy of knowing how it feels to be your fully, authentic self by sharing It Gets Better with everyone I can.

The space It Gets Better created for me to embrace my identity journey exists because of donors like you. Can we count on you to make another commitment to LGBTQ+ youth this year? Together, LGBTQ+ youth will always find a way to blossom and evolve into the people we’re meant to be. We will always teach each other how to love ourselves. 

This is the Joy Rebellion. Thank you for being a part of it.  

Proudly,

Alejandro Jiménez de Ferry, 20 - (he/him)
Youth Voices Board Liaison
It Gets Better

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