Our lives seem to be driven by dissent and discord; all around us, we see chaos, and strife, and seeming ignorance of coming together for a ‘common’ good. Whether it’s no-maskers accusing mask wearers of being ‘sheep’, brexiteers dubbing those who are against Brexit as remoaners, or countless other areas of life, there is conflict. People see people as lesser or merely something to ridicule and cast out their ideas. Why? Because their thoughts and ideas are against their thoughts and ideas. The social cohesion and structure, and the ability to see another's opinions as non-threatening to your own, has…

If I was to say Viking to you — images are probably conjured up of vicious barbaric warriors charging in, to raid and pillage, and indeed to go ‘a-Viking’ was a glorious and noble pursuit. But that wasn’t all there was to the people known as the Vikings. They were traders; they were poets; they had a rich history, and an even richer mythos focused on the cycle of life and rebirth. They were farmers, and so much more. However, I’m less interested in focusing on their lifestyle but on how Christianity has changed our perception of their religious beliefs…

As more gender identities, sexualities and pronouns come into existence, the most common rebuttal I’ve seen on my journey through the internet, over many sites, is the decision that neo-pronouns are made up. Or a gender identity is made up. Or a sexuality is made up. Always with the underlying tone of ‘because I haven’t heard of these, you must be jumping on the bandwagon,’ or ‘these aren’t valid because I feel you’ve made them up.’

How did the community go from wanting to validate people to suddenly becoming gatekeepers if you're valid enough to take labels that give you…

As I fill my spare time with more and more things I want to do — goals I want to achieve, life experiences I want to have, I’m becoming more and more aware of the vital skill that isn’t taught in schools. Oh, they say that they teach good time management through the provision of homework and timetables — but neither of those realistically move into the real world super well. …

There is no issue to me with someone who dislikes non-binary people. Someone who dislikes non-binary people that is their right, to hold their opinion. This dislike isn’t something I find inherently transphobic. This dislike I view as something that is more based on the fact it’s still — at least in western colonial lands — a new phenomenon that people have to get used to. I state western colonial areas because of the number of areas originally used to have identities for people outside of the gender binary. So when does a dislike of nonbinary people become transphobic?

Regardless of your dislike — how you treat people is key.

If…

I see this a lot — which hormones do you take if you’re non-binary?

Now, myself, I take the full HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) dose for someone transitioning female to male. But that is because gender is a spectrum, and on it, I’m more on the masculine end of the spectrum. For my mental health and mental happiness, I’m comfortable being viewed as male, as much as I’m comfortable being non-binary androgynous.

But that is my story and my approach.

I’m also looking to eventually have most of the hair on my body (other than that on my head) removed…

You may have heard of the phrase “Life is a Marathon, Not a Sprint” — but I prefer to remind myself that an “Oak Tree doesn’t grow in a day.” Let me, however, tell you a story.

We’re all familiar with the mighty oak (or the great Redwoods may be more familiar for some readers); however, the concept is the same behind this story, and I’m going to tell it as someone describing an Oak Tree.

I was young, and my brain was bounding with energy. I remember marveling at a great oak tree — it’s old knotted branches having…