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This is Ohio attorney Tara McKenzie Allison describing the deep, dark day seven years
ago, when she nearly ended her life
"And there I sat on the edge of this bed that night
Bawling my eyes out The tears just pouring down my face
With a loaed gun in my lap"
Her audience watches in frozen silence, as they waited to hear if Tara, a former naval
officer, would pull the trigger.
"i cannot tell you how many times that night I stared down the barrel of that gun and I
literally came that close to ending my life
Because the sense of hopelessness Sense of despair that I could never be myself
had gotten to the point where I couldn't handle it anymore"
So Tara says she faced only *two* choices and *both* of them were frightening.
she would *have* to transition from male to female, *or* she would *have* to die.
"I can reach down and pick up that gun and finish the job or I can admit these feelings
are never going to go away
Because they're part of who i am
If I'm going to move forward, my choice is clear
Transition or die"
It was a powerful realization that saved Tara's life, and now she is committed to saving others.
It's why Tara now travels across the United States, openly sharing her story, hoping it
will encourage *and* educate trans and non-trans people alike.
It's easy to discriminate and demonize a small minority group but once you put a human face
on that group it becomes a lot harder to do that
That's my biggest mission I guess, I want the world to see us as human beings
Well I last saw this beautiful human being in 2011
in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio
Tara's talk at Ohio State University was "Textbook Tara" meaning it was riveting and informative
and designed to empower other transgender people.
Tara's now brought her message to my town of Arlington, Virginia, a large suburb of
Washington, DC.
Her mission to enlighten American society is well-placed so close to America's Capitol
But this is far from Tara's first time in the Washington DC area. Her commitment to
serving the public actually got a big boost here, at the highly prestigious U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Tara thrived as a young and hearthrobbingly handsome engineering student at the Naval
Academy.
Her name was Todd then and she was a real hotshot, although she was hiding a painful
secret.
So Tara immersed herself in her studies and training
and said that the rigorous environment in Annapolis boosted her confidence and courage....all
lessons that would actually serve her well in her new life -- as a beautiful woman.
when I came out, when all of my friends, all of my family, all of my coworkers,
when everybody who knew me knew my big deep dark secret that I'm trans, coming out was
such a liberating experience for me
For the first time in my life I woke up and thought, oh good lord this is what it's like
to finally be happy
I told a friend I didn't step out of one closet just to crawl back into another one
I don't want to go thru my life worrying who's going to find out i used to be a guy
I own the fact that I'm trans. I'm out and trans and proud of that"
And lots of people are proud of Tara, including many old Naval Academy classmates, like Bruce
Bruce worked with the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance to sponsor Tara's talk in Arlington
He clearly enjoys collaborating with his old Naval Academy friend on her *new* mission
But Bruce isn't the only one who's supported Tara since transition. In fact, Naval Academy
offcials invited Tara to speak on campus, and she was treated like a rock star when
she arrived.
That's really remarkable for a US military institution, but make no mistake, the Naval
Academy still has a long way to go.
Listen as Tara explains.
I can tell you right now I had several midshipmen come up to me on the side, in private and
openly out themselves as transgender.
There are transgender midshipmen serving at the Naval Academy right now
And they cannot be honest with who they are
she means They cannot be honest with who they are, because they will be expelled *immediately*
The US military and the Naval Academy took a big step forward when it stopped kicking
out its gay, lesbian and bisexual midshipmen in 2011
But sadly, even today being *transgender* *still* means you are in-eligible, ineligible
to study and in-eligible to serve
"Every job I did in the navy, I could have done as Tara
Little over nine years I spent on active duty, there is nothing that I did that I couldn't
have done as Tara
I could've done my job as Tara, there is no good reason why a transgender person can't
serve their country in the armed forces"
The woman who came moments away from ending her life tells this audience of LGBT people
and allies the best days for her -- and her community -- are still ahead.
As difficult as this is and as bad as we are treated in some instances in our society,
it's getting better
So I feel very blessed and very fortunate now to be out and about and speaking to large
groups of people and trying to humanize our community.
It's just, it's wonderful
You can find Tara's speaking schedule on Facebook.
You can also submit speaking requests there.
Tara is eager to continue the battle for LGBT rights, that's ironically something *else*
the battle-focused Naval Academy has prepared her for.
Just a different kind of battle, right?
Sunny, I couldn't have missed out on this and it's wonderful to see you, it's been too
long.