Welcome to a New Decade

Happy New Year, and welcome to a new decade—the 2020s! It’s going to be interesting to see how this year, and eventually the decade, gets recorded in the history books.

The one day I’m breathlessly anticipating this year is November 3, 2020. In case you’re wondering, that’s Election Day—the day I pray we kick Dolt 45 to the curb and make him an impeached one-term president. If you aren’t registered to vote, now is the time to make that happen. You have until October to do it. Make it happen. The human rights and democracy you save may be your own.

I’ll be getting 2020 started the same way I closed out the 2010s, by getting another award for my 20-plus years of work to advance the human rights of transgender Americans.

When the Creating Change Conference kicks off in Dallas on January 15, I’ll be in the house to receive the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement at the opening plenary for #CC20. Already working on my speech for it.

I’m also looking forward to the ninth annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas. It starts the day after my birthday and runs May 5–10. That will be my extended birthday week, and I’m looking forward to see- ing my trans fam around the country coming to Dallas.

As a sports junkie, I’ll definitely be watching the Summer Olympics when they convene in Tokyo starting on July 24 and running through August 9.

Another 2020 date I’m anticipating is in October, when my high-school class will be celebrating our 40-year reunion. We usually do a three-day weekend for it, and in case you’re wondering, yes I have won the ‘Most Changed Award’ twice, in 2000 and 2010. I’m retired from being considered for it because of those dual wins.

My 2000 Most Changed Award win at our 20th reunion was in large part due to my transition. The 2010 award was a surprise. I was down to my high-school weight of 175 pounds after I moved back to Texas a mere five months before our reunion happened.

Ever since our 35th reunion, my class has been getting together for events such as game nights and parties during the year. For 2020, we’re planning a casino trip and a reunion cruise.

And sadly, we are increasingly having to come together to say goodbye to our classmates at their funerals.

New Year’s Day offers all of us a chance to hit the reset button in our lives and focus on making the necessary corrections to ensure a better outcome in the New Year.

In the run-up to January 1, we can evaluate what went right and what went wrong in the previous year. When we come to the end of a decade, that focus can be expanded to what we did or didn’t do throughout the decade, and what we can do to make the next decade better for everyone.

My hope and prayer for all of you reading this is that the upcoming new year, and the decade of the 2020s, is a far better and more prosperous one for you than the 2010s were.

Happy New Year, and Happy New Decade!

This article appears in the January 2020 edition of OutSmart magazine.