Queer people often navigate a complex journey of self-discovery, shaped by societal pressures and personal identity struggles. We don't just grow up as ourselves; we perform roles that shield us from judgment and discrimination. Like characters in Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" video, where gender norms blur and identities intertwine, we too grapple with unraveling the layers of our true selves. The challenge of adulthood lies in distinguishing between our authentic essence and the personas we've adopted - either for protection, or to step into a stereotyped role to feel like we fit in. The truth may be that our authentic selves lie in a combination of our past, present and future selves. It could be in the versions of ourselves we

have designed in our own mind, or in the versions of ourselves designed in the minds of others. It could be somewhere in between. I often wonder if the person I'm evolving into aligns with the person I truly want to be. Who I am grows with every experience I have, and experiences are often unpredictable.

How could I possibly predict who I will be tomorrow? Caught in the reality of transience, at a crossroads of societal expectation and personal aspirations, we search for a path that resonates with our true identity. As we learn, as we grow, we shed layers that obscure our authentic selves, rather than abandoning who we are entirely to become someone new. Maybe we've always been the person we are underneath, we are just slowly revealing that person to the world.