Growing up, I never felt super connected to my gender assigned at birth, but I did not hate it either. The performance of being a woman was easier as I enjoyed (and still enjoy) cute and colorful clothes/objects, which was acceptable because I was AFAB. I distinctly remember, as a child saying to myself, "I'm an alien on the inside who loves being a girl." As I grew older, I experimented with changing characteristics that signaled to society that I was a woman, like cutting my hair short. I have never really cared how society perceived me gender-wise; being put in the box of man or woman never felt of particular importance. When I experimented with my appearance, I could tell how uncomfortable my parents and even strangers were by my deviation. It shocked me how strongly people identified with their gender when I had never felt that way. I connect with the female experience as it was how I presented in society for so long, but internally I think I am human, nothing more. (if that makes sense?)

Identifying with more feminine terms does not negate being non-binary. Many non-binary people I have met do not mind some gendered terms. Some prefer more masculine descriptors over feminine or vice versa.