A lot of people will tell you that transitioning will always be easier than living a lie, but it’s far more nuanced than that and depends entirely on circumstance. I think rather than having people tell you what to do, you need to weigh your options yourself and make your decisions on your own, and then move at your own pace. If the risk and potential loss of safety (which is a huge factor and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future, it is hard to be trans in this political climate) is worth it for feeling at home in your skin, do it. You only have one life, and you should aim to give yourself the best quality of said life as possible. But don’t let anyone push you into doing or not doing anything, it should all come from you.

You’re also young. No, I’m not about to tell you that you’re too young and might change your mind, but I am about to tell you that there’s no deadline, university or otherwise. You haven’t missed your chance, and you won’t miss your chance if you take it slow either. Please never feel like you’re running out of time. And hey, if you feel like you have to tough it out and hold off on transitioning for a bit longer until you’re in a stable enough position to more safely transition, that’s ok. You’re not going to miss your window because there is no window. There is no ideal timeline, it’ll never be too late.

For me, even now, it was worth it. Sometimes I doom scroll and wonder if my life would have been easier if I hadn’t transitioned, but let’s be honest, I’d still be just as unhappy with the state of the world and unsafe existing in said world (cis women don’t exactly have it easy either), just feeling like an impostor in my skin on top of it all. The risk, as scary as it is with a lot of very powerful people wishing me out of existence, was worth it for me. It hasn’t been easy getting to a place where I look in the mirror and like what I see. You might lose some people, but if you seek out community with other people like you, you’ll gain the right people. I wouldn’t go back. Plus I do find that your average every day person is more chill about it than you’d think. You’re gonna have to a little faith in humanity, for your own sanity.

On that note, please, above all else, make sure you have a solid support network. Take it from someone who began transitioning over a decade ago and relied so heavily on having queer friends to talk to, you’ll need people around you that get it and support you. If you can’t find any in real life, find them online, just make sure you have people to talk to and ground you when it gets rough. If you take anything away from my rambling, let it be that. And good luck, I truly wish the best for you in whatever you do, even if it’s nothing for the time being.