Gus Dinsmore: Graduating students, share your story, and be visible for those who can’t

By Gus Dinsmore

My name is Gus Dinsmore. A year ago, if you had told me that I’d still be around to graduate high school, I would’ve laughed in your face. Even a month ago I would have scoffed at the idea, because, let’s just say high school for me wasn’t exactly like “High School Musical.” It was more like “13 Reasons Why,” we’ll put it that way.

Right off the bat, I want to share something with you that some of you know, and some of you don’t know: I am a PROUD queer transgender man. My entire life, I’ve been picked on for being “different”. I was the weird kid, the kid that talked to themselves and wanted to be friends with everybody even if they didn’t want to be friends with me. I was the kid that was pushed around in the hallways and had stuff thrown at me in the bus, and the kid who wore glasses and was picked on because I was gay. I was the kid who lived with their grandparents, the kid who was told I’d never be anybody worth remembering. I was struck down with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and about a dozen other emotional health issues. Being gay and transgender, in a world full of people who don’t understand and treat you like garbage for existing, I’d be lying if I said there were’nt times I’d considered putting an end to it all. I’d also be lying if I said I’ve never tried.

This year in particular was difficult for all of us, but for some of us, I think it hit a little harder. There’s a lot of silent sufferers among us in our schools. People of color, gay kids, transgender kids, poor and homeless kids, kids that come from less than desired living situations, kids with disabilities, hidden and visible, kids who didn’t make it to today and kids who never will. Every day, we walk these halls, these streets, these buildings, and we pass by people we don’t even know. But even though we don’t know them, they have a story. I have a story, you have a story, we all have a story to tell about how we got here and why we did, who we are and what we’re doing. Newsflash, most of us don’t know what we’re doing, we just do it and hope for the best.

My point is, we all have something to share. We all have dark moments in our past, and happy moments blended in with them like some sort of weird ombre of both fortunate and unfortunate happenings. And all of our stories deserve to be heard. I’ve never recoiled from sharing mine, and I’ll tell you why: You never know who is listening. Someone out there in the crowd before me could be listening to me speak and be thinking about how much they relate or understand, and my words could be helping them fight their inner battles that none of us know anything about. Share your story, speak your truth, and live it to the best of your ability every day that you can. Life is so much better when you choose yourself and make yourself and your wellness a priority.

There are two reasons I brought up the fact that I’m a transgender man today, and I’ll share this one first. I want to be visible. And I want you to feel inspired to be visible as well. If you are like me, and you fall into that category of being LGBTQ+, I want you to listen to this: In a world full of individuals who are so dedicated to drowning us under the surface of their hatred and ignorance, your existence alone is an act of rebellion. You choosing to exist every day that you do is proof we are not going anywhere and we will always bounce back, regardless of hatred and unwavering violence that continues to shake our community. You are visible. Whether or not you have told the world who you are, your life matters and is worthy of celebration and acceptance. And today, I am also visible. I am visible for those who can’t be.

The second reason is this: I want to shed light on victims of transphobia driven hate crimes over these last few months. In that same theme of being visible, they deserve the visibility that hateful beings stole from them because of their own twisted ideas about who we are. Victims are as follows:

Oliver Taylor

Tyianna Alexander

Samuel Valentin

Bianca Bankz

Chyna Carrillo

Jenna Franks

Diamond Sanders

Jaida Peterson

Natalia Smut

Serenity Hollis

Danika Henson

May we remember them, and continue the fight for transgender lives and rights.

As my speech comes to a close, I want to say one more thing: To all of us here today, no matter what walk of life we have come from, we as students have all made it. We all have accomplished so much, even if you don’t think you have, I promise you have done more than than you know, and have impacted so many lives in more ways than one.

Remember, share your story; you never know who is listening.

And, be visible, for those who can’t be.

Happy graduation, AND happy Pride Month.

Gus Dinsmore is from Missoula and now lives in Spokane. This is his speech to the 2021 graduating class at Mead High School.