Have you ever had felt wounded? I’ll bet you at some point in your life you have. It may not show visibly. However, you don’t feel right, and no matter why or what the context is, the pain remains painful! What if you have felt wounded and you are transgender? It is like a cherry on the top filled with pains. Melissa is a complete person who has lacked confidence, felt ugly, or not found her worth enough, but nothing could stop her from becoming a Transgender Authority.
In her life journey, she has grown into a much stronger person. She is more patient and so much more tolerant of ignorance. Her resilience has built up far beyond what her dreams could have ever imagined or thought possible. She became comfortable in her uncomfortable skin, ready to bear any pain. Indeed it’s painful while going through all this and even more challenging than you can think. Such situations can tear apart a person emotionally, physically, or financially; however, in her case, this has made her a far better person who has turned into a beautiful shining star today.
Let’s read her real-life story and struggles to get a brief snapshot from childhood to date. It will explain how things have changed for her and how the worst times helps her to be the courageous and motivational person she is today.
Her life
In her early years, she was in Auckland. Most of her life had been in one house in New Zealand living. She spent the first four or so a year of her life in one house adjacent to the new family home she would move to. The memories of the new house she lived in are still fresh in her mind. Melissa remembers the house-warming party where she stood alone as people arrived, then later on milled around her, laughing, drinking, and eating, but she was at peace.
Her father was an engineer who worked at Mulcahy Engineering. Her mother was a housewife until she reached her twenties. As a child, she went fishing with her family. Spending time on the boat or a yacht seaside was one of her favorite pastimes, and bush-walking and cycling. This passion continued until her adult years. Being outdoors gave Melissa a sense of freedom.
She was timid as a child and at school. She never made friends and was never a part of any boy’s group in her school. Melissa’s relationship with her parents at home was never perfect, with their arguing and fighting with each other, not helping her in any way. Her feminine looks and lean figure were the main reason for her harassment and bullying at school once. She was also dipped underwater to join a girl’s camp nearby when attending a boys brigade camp one weekend.
Melissa recalls playing and spending good quality time with her girl cousins. The bonfires were at home or when she attended the local church youth group at a farm for Guy Fawkes in November. Rockets flying in the air and crackers going off one after the other used to fascinate her. The bonfires roared at night in the sky; this was one pleasant memory from her past.
Growing up as a teenager, Melissa realized that she was not like the other boys. She would have preferred to use the female toilets. However, she used the boys’ restrooms. She enjoyed wearing her mother’s clothes when no one was around. After that, she started realizing that she was different. However, keeping it to herself and not discussing this with anyone. She had no friends to talk about this, and as her parents were busy, seemingly oblivious to her, and often fought.
In high school, when she decided to suppress her thoughts and feelings. She tried to fit in with the other boys. Melissa threw herself into typical teenage boy activities such as being part of schoolyard pranks and only mixed with a few other teenagers at school. She took part in school athletics but soon realized that I could not make it compared to the other taller and stronger boys.
At this time, she tried to bury and ignore her feminine feelings and give more attention to the usual crowd. Hence, she started drinking early at the age of 15. As Melissa moved onto her adulthood, it took her almost 13 months to get employed. And then she had the money actually to go out and enjoy nightclubs or strip shows. She tried and played touch rugby and cricket for quite a time, pretending to be masculine. But deep down, Melissa still felt uncomfortable with who she was.
Once again, as Melissa moved onto life, she found herself dressing up as a female in her late 20’s. During this time, she was also dealing with depression. Melissa felt that she was not able to be herself. Not long after this, she decided to move to Melbourne and since then has not looked back.
Not long after moving to Melbourne, she started wearing female clothes at home. After a few years, she got some courage to go to a few safe places, such as DT’s pub in Richmond and the Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda. She met a few people there who helped her during her early years going out as a female.
Melissa continued working as a male and still hid her true identity from my patients, colleagues, and family. It was the most crucial time in her life as it was tough to accept that she was a transgender female. Looking back, Melissa is grateful to other transgender people, who were of great help to her.
In 2014 when the father was in the hospital dealing with cancer, she went to Auckland to visit him. Looking at him, Melissa realized that life is concise and unpredictable. When Melissa saw her dad looking pale and as though his life was nearly over. It helped her decide to be true to the world and live full time as a transgender female. So after this, the first thing she did was tell her employer was that she was going to transition from male to female. It was when the entire process began.
In 2015 while her transition journey was going on, she faced a lot of problems. People asked her questions like whether she would prefer to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Also, going out as a female, people gave her strange looks while she walked down the street or when she went to use female toilets. Even at restaurants, people addressed her as Sir when I introduced herself as Melissa.
During her time transitioning and after starting to live full-time as a female, Melissa gained some experience in advocacy and consulting to organizations. She managed to get a gender identity policy introduced at several racing clubs, including the Victoria Racing Club. Through these experiences, she realized that there was still a need for an understanding with other clubs/employers about how to make workplaces inclusive for transgender people. She also realized that there was a real need to spread more awareness regarding transgender people.
Also, through her own experiences, Melissa recognized that people needed to be more generous and inclusive of transgender people in workplaces and society as a whole. With this in mind, she decided to take classes first to improve herself and be a better person before embarking on her mission of raising awareness and educating employers.
So in 2017, Melissa finally decided to reach people, and she wrote an article for Thrive Global about herself and a foundation that she wanted to set up. Since then, she has continued on this path through radio, TV, print media, and social media, sharing her real-life story and the entire journey and its intricacy to break down barriers and help people be more accepting of transgender people.
Although Melissa achieved a lot in a short space of time early on in 2017, she felt there is still more to do. She thought that the only way people will connect to it would be through her story. So Melissa began to share a lot more of her story. To her surprise, many people either came up to her on the street, or through social media, or at events spoke. They gave her all the appreciation for being courageous and outspoken about the entire journey.
Doing this was the best way Melissa knew her. It was the only change in society’s point of view towards transgender people. People started showing respect towards her and for her decision to live as a female all her life. A lot of people connected with her, who were going through similar issues. Others connected with Melissa for her honesty.
Through this process, she changed her whole approach in dealing with people and learned to ask for support. It was a huge lesson to acknowledge that when you have stuffed up, ask people how to get help with this or deal with it.
Through Melissa’s personal experiences and critical journey, she has learned never to give up, no matter how difficult or impossible the situation may seem to be. No matter what and how severe your path is, one should not lose patience and eventually overcome the hurdle. It has proved to be correct, and she will keep this to the end of her journey.
Melissa being a Transgender Female, raises awareness
While going through all this, Melissa kept working on herself. She learned how to deal with others while becoming a better listener and person in the process. To completely change your identity is a significant turmoil in itself where you can sometimes feel stuck and face situations that seems impossible to resolve.
Also, there are times when you fight between your inner self and the world, which gets you in a challenging position. People keep pressuring you for things and try to make you feel that you cannot do it. But somewhere deep inside, you know that you can. When you have come across so well up till now, you can push a bit further. Believing in yourself is a big challenge. However, Melissa has learned that one can do wonders if one digs deep to find that self-belief. Also, if you start to do better in your life for yourselves, then, in turn, you can help others believe in themselves.
Melissa spreads awareness regarding the issues a transgender person may face. She also talks about how to make workplaces more inclusive for transgender people. She has learned this through her own experiences, going through issues herself while transforming from a male to a female.
According to Melissa, it takes a lot of courage to step out and do things beyond your comfort zone. But you may do it in your unique way. People may notice and talk about you moving away from your routine. They will create and attempt to place obstacles in your approach to prevent you from spreading your message with love. And especially when you are trying to do something different to make the world a better place.
Speaking to people about respecting transgender people
It gets too difficult to feel safe and comfortable when even one person does not accept you at your workplace. Melissa has shared her story through various mediums, which mentions how she has felt confused, misunderstood, or feelings of not belonging in this world. She has always wanted answers as to why she is even a part of this world. And she is finding some of those answers now.
Sharing this has made her vulnerable; however, others will connect with her story by doing so. Doing so makes Melissa a target for trolls and the like. However, being a voice will help other transgender people to build up that courage in their hearts to speak up. A view that can help lead to transgender people being respected, not vilified, or victimized like third-rate citizens.
Talking about this makes Melissa also think back to when she ultimately started living as a woman. That journey chokes her up, thinking of those days and how it was to start feeling beautiful again. Her nomination for an award is like another achievement for Melissa. And it also makes her recall all she has done. They also push her to a new level and stage of hope and opportunities for the future.
Moments and Experiences in life shape us
Turmoil tests us. It helps us grow better and stronger. If we make up our minds, decide to be healthy, and go through the storm no matter what, we will be able to resolve issues and overcome obstacles simultaneously. If we sit and think that the experiences in our lives have occurred for a reason and will deal correctly, it will positively impact our lives. By sharing our story, we inspire others and have a positive effect on others too. We are making the world a better place for all of us.
Many thanks to our Story Editor, Srishti Mehra Arora, and until we bring a new exciting story to you, let’s toast to good thought.
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