When we become parents, few of us really know what we're signing up to—a lifetime contract to unconditionally love our children. No one knows that more than a Californian couple with a transgender six-year-old.
According to an article in Yahoo, from the tenderest age Ryland Whittington knew he was a boy inside a girl's body.
By the time his sixth birthday rolled around, his parents were finally ready to let him be himself, and shot a moving video telling their story. In a matter of days, the seven-minute YouTube footage was watched more than 3.5 million times.
“Some told us it was ‘just a phase.’ The trouble was, phases end,” goes the video montage. And for Ryland, the desire to live life as the opposite sex extended far beyond tomboy tendencies.
The story is less about Ryland—who seemed to know who he was from the moment he could speak—and more about his parents' journey.
Speaking from personal experience here... While it may be instinctive to love your kids, it's not always easy to accept their differences.
The video was first aired on May 22 as part of San Diego's Annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast. We defy you to watch it and stay dry-eyed.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life,” Ryland said, addressing the Breakfast audience. That's reason enough.
Could you do what the Whittingtons did, in their shoes?
This celebrity inspired us with her determination to live authentically.
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