(upbeat music)
- When I was in middle school,
I really was starting to
go through those hormones
and starting to realize what I
liked and what I didn't like.
All throughout middle school,
I just thought I was a gay boy
but I always knew that there
was something deeper inside,
and that was my gender identity.
I mean, I always grew up
and my mom always knew
that I was different, and
her support has been amazing.
She's been so loving and caring.
And is just, she knows
that I'm a free spirit,
and she's always been there
for me, so it's really great.
And coming to high school,
I decided that this was
a new chapter in my life
so I felt like it was only
necessary to come out,
and it was just time.
And it was gonna happen sooner or later,
and I thought, might as well do it now.
When I came out, for the first
few weeks of freshman year,
I went by my original name
that I was given at birth
because it was just kind
of really complicated.
But, when I started being
referred to as Jade,
it gave me more power.
It made me feel like I was a woman
whether anybody said I wasn't or was.
When I started attending San Juan High,
there wasn't many trans
students obviously,
so one of the great
things I always respected
was the staff and admin
always checked up on me,
made sure I felt safe.
And they asked me what do you need?
What do you need from us for
you to feel comfortable here
because I would be spending
the rest of my high school career here.
And I was lucky enough and blessed enough
to be able to be moved into
the women's locker room
and women's facilities without any issues.
And then, getting my name
changed in the system,
so that way there was no complications.
These were all big triumphs for me
and being the first student
in San Juan Unified District
to be able to do that was really,
really inspirational to
me and, I know, to others.
I am attending college in the Fall 2019,
I'm a CSU East Bay commit.
I want to get my teaching credential
and I would love to teach ethnic studies,
so I'm majoring in ethnic studies.
I chose that because I
love educating people.
I'm Jade Velez, I'm a
student at San Juan Unified,
and this is my SJ story.
