#talkingbú

For example as a camp counselor a younger kid I was walking to dinner mentioned she was a therian and liked walking on all fours. I said “cool” and I asked her if that was faster or slower than biped walking and she said it was faster for her and helped when her feet were hurting. And then we went to dinner and ate lasagna and everything was fine and relaxed and we went to the pool and hung out the next day.

Also I friend I have who’s a trans man who wanted to talk to an older trans man who used to be a counselor (if you’re an older teen you’re a counselor and if you’re an adult you’re on staff) and I went up and helped him start a conversation. He told me he wanted to legally change his name and I said “do you want me to call you that now or when it’s changed” and he said he didn’t know and I said “no pressure” and then we ate goldfish.

You can just be chill. Especially if you have some sort of power over the people who are coming out in one way or another to you (being an older teen counselor instead of a younger teen camper), you actually SHOULD be chill. Of course there are times where you should have more energy or things are more important but if someone casually mentions they’re part of a group who is bullied or vulnerable you can just be chill and I promise the kids will feel so much safer and have a better experience.

The Blind and the Guiding Light