"Stop being shy, honey." A trans woman made TikTok cry with a video in which she speaks to her "past" self
A conversation that "travels in time"
Bree Christianson (who posts on Instagram under the account @laser.breems) posted a video of her present self speaking to Bree in an "April 2021" version. These older recordings, in which Christianson loudly vented her insecurities and fears at the time, were not chosen at random-they were made just days after she realized she was trans.
In this way, today's Bree reaches out through video not only to her younger self, but also to all trans people who are in the beginning stages of gender transition.
"It's really hard. The last three days have been horrible," Christianson confides on camera about her past.
"It's getting easier every day. The last four years have made me want to live again," responds a much more optimistic Christianson of today.
Overthinking and bad judgment? Oh, no.
As the video continues, Christianson refutes many self-defeating beliefs with calm kindness to her freshly "outlawed" self. In the video, for example, her younger self is heard saying, "Maybe it's just in my head. Maybe I'm just sexually repressed. Maybe I'm just ' overthinking ' and bored." But as the present-day Christianson confirms, none of these expressed fears have proven true over the years. On the contrary, thanks to the transition, he now leads a much more contented life.
All he has to do is allow himself...
"Stop being ashamed. This is the truest and bravest thing you've ever done," the video's author appeals to her "past" self. "And I'm so proud of you! I literally owe my existence to you. I'm here because of you."
"I hate that I can't be who I want to be because I'm not allowed to," her younger self admits, while a collage appears in the video, documenting many happy moments from the last four years of Christianson's life.
"You can be, baby," she replies. "You never needed permission. Just let it happen."
The diary entries served their purpose twice
The trans woman also readily explained to her followers what prompted her to start making diary videos soon after her internal coming out.
"Four years ago, I embarked on a journey to become who I always wanted to be," Christianson embarked on a recollection on her Instagram. "At the time, I didn't know what I was doing, so I decided to start keeping a journal. I hoped that (...) hearing myself say things out loud would give me insight into what I wanted and what I felt. I had no idea what perspective these diary entries would give me so many years later."
The light in her eyes says it all
The video, which doesn't deny a great deal of pure honesty, made its way from Instagram to TikTok, where it quickly went viral - many social media users are literally gushing over the journey Christianson has managed to walk in four years. As one commenter aptly wrote, "The best part of any transition timeline I've ever seen is the light that comes back into the person's eyes ."
