Dominick, 15 – Waterbury CT

COVID-19 has affected the majority of the population in a variety of forms in day-to-day life. The measures taken for the sake of living beings and the environment through moments like these have created quite the unimaginable struggle for certain economically-strained individuals and families, immunodeficient patients, certain races, and the outlooks of society as a whole.

Certain categories which aren’t covered by main-stream media nor communities have been severely affected, some even more than others. For instance, immigrant-families/immigrant individuals and transgender-beings have not had access to same resources in times like these.

Growing from a young age in a poverty-filled family has made the idea of constant adaptation feel like a chore than a self-taught skill. This was used throughout my early childhood to acknowledge the concept of income, grieving, and mental health. As family members got older and weaker, so did the struggles we faced. Things over time had begun to settle down and slowly become sense to us. We had become as financially stable as we could in our personal situations. We conquered the economic and emotionally painful downfall from losing our family member (Christian), a brother, a son, a supporter in the house. He was the only other sibling aside from the only other one. The one writing for the chance to continue to support their family and self-being. Unlike other families or individuals, we have not had the benefits of economic help by the government due to how we are perceived as alienated creatures who shouldn’t be on their territory.

Being transgender is another label in which has caused me to be discriminated even more. The Trump Administration has allowed the harmful discrimination of LGBT people to continue in the medical field when there has been as much struggle for us outside of the virus. Treatments like gender therapy, trauma based therapy, HRT and surgery have been either postponed or discontinued because of COVID-19 precautions. These have been our resources to escape environments which put our lives in danger. Being a transgender teen in these eras have been burdening but still greatly filled with acceptance compared to the past times in life.

For example, personally, being out of schools has caused anxiety and pressure about bullying to lower but for others it is the struggle of being at home more have more it profoundly worse due to the discrimination by their own families. Along with the cost and down fall of the economy, transgender patients have been unable to financially support their treatments and familes or homes together at once. 

The safety of all individuals no matter their physical, cultural, or gender should be validated not discriminated against. Logically, if the effort is equally divided by everyone so should the effort to respect one another. This could be financially, health-wise, and even in the mainstream-media. All in all, our communities should not be divided by certain labels or ways of living because we are all struggling together.

Dominick, 15 – Waterbury CT

COVID-19 has affected the majority of the population in a variety of forms in day-to-day life. The measures taken for the sake of living beings and the environment through moments like these have created quite the unimaginable struggle for certain economically-strained individuals and families, immunodeficient patients, certain races, and the outlooks of society as a whole.

Certain categories which aren’t covered by main-stream media nor communities have been severely affected, some even more than others. For instance, immigrant-families/immigrant individuals and transgender-beings have not had access to same resources in times like these.

Growing from a young age in a poverty-filled family has made the idea of constant adaptation feel like a chore than a self-taught skill. This was used throughout my early childhood to acknowledge the concept of income, grieving, and mental health. As family members got older and weaker, so did the struggles we faced. Things over time had begun to settle down and slowly become sense to us. We had become as financially stable as we could in our personal situations. We conquered the economic and emotionally painful downfall from losing our family member (Christian), a brother, a son, a supporter in the house. He was the only other sibling aside from the only other one. The one writing for the chance to continue to support their family and self-being. Unlike other families or individuals, we have not had the benefits of economic help by the government due to how we are perceived as alienated creatures who shouldn’t be on their territory.

Being transgender is another label in which has caused me to be discriminated even more. The Trump Administration has allowed the harmful discrimination of LGBT people to continue in the medical field when there has been as much struggle for us outside of the virus. Treatments like gender therapy, trauma based therapy, HRT and surgery have been either postponed or discontinued because of COVID-19 precautions. These have been our resources to escape environments which put our lives in danger. Being a transgender teen in these eras have been burdening but still greatly filled with acceptance compared to the past times in life.

For example, personally, being out of schools has caused anxiety and pressure about bullying to lower but for others it is the struggle of being at home more have more it profoundly worse due to the discrimination by their own families. Along with the cost and down fall of the economy, transgender patients have been unable to financially support their treatments and familes or homes together at once. 

The safety of all individuals no matter their physical, cultural, or gender should be validated not discriminated against. Logically, if the effort is equally divided by everyone so should the effort to respect one another. This could be financially, health-wise, and even in the mainstream-media. All in all, our communities should not be divided by certain labels or ways of living because we are all struggling together.