Take me back to that year. What was it like for you in the months before you came out making that

big decision? It was scary. I had thought about my gender identity every single waking hour

of every single day up until that point.

The first time I interviewed Sarah McBride, it was 2012.

I was writing for a local blog here in Washington, D.C.

She was the student body president at American University,

and she had just done something pretty groundbreaking.

I wasn't quite sure how my campus would respond to an out

transgender student body president. Certainly, I didn't even know how they'd necessarily respond

to an out transgender student. Sarah had always had an interest in politics. She'd always wanted to

run for office. It's why she worked on campaigns back home in Delaware and got involved

with student government when she got to

AU. But there was a part of her, a big part of her, that thought when she came out as trans,

she'd be kissing those dreams goodbye. I had to say there are just some things more important,

that there might be other ways that I can contribute, that I can feel proud of the life that I've

lived. None of those will be

possible if I don't take this step toward authenticity and wholeness. But I in many ways had to

give up on those dreams. I had to say that, you know, I'm not going to let a career in government

get in the way of alleviating a nearly constant pain and completeness.

So Sarah came out in an essay in the school newspaper. And the reaction she got wasn't exactly

what she expected. What was incredible from the first moment my coming out note posted,

every single message that came in was a message of love

...