Bree Boehman had a secret, one that had been on her mind for some time now. Something she had only told a handful of friends earlier that summer at camp.

A week before the beginning of her sophomore year at Community High School, she felt that this was time for her parents to know. It was late at night, roughly 10 p.m., and the whole house was settling in for the night. She had decided it was time to be honest; Boehman came out as a transgender woman.

For Boehman’s parents, it was a lot of information to take in, so they left without discussion.

“They just went up to bed,” Boehman said. “So I spent the entire night worrying about it.” In the morning, her parents shifted right into the change.

“It was almost like nothing happened,” Boehman said. “It was real but surreal, but also nice.”

Since then, Boehman says not much has changed in her life.

“It’s hard to explain because there is something definitely different,” Boehman said. “But my home life is still the same and I still have the same friends.” The main change that Boehman has truly experienced is she is no longer treated as a man, but as a woman. “It is a small difference, but it is a difference.”

Overall, Boehman has only seen positive responses to her transition. “There was a wide range of reactions,” Boehman said. “Some of them were just like, ‘Oh that’s cool, we’ll call you Bree from now on.’ Other friends were very excited for me and wanted to get right into hanging out with me doing ‘girl stuff,’ like makeup and clothing shopping.” One of her friends even stood up and shouted, ‘I knew it,’ when she came out.

Boehman thinks it is funny, looking back on the years, that she did not realize who she was sooner. “I have always been pretty feminine,” Boehman said. “I’ve always disliked being a boy and being a male.” She believes the reason for this is due to denial and repression.

“Whenever that question came up, ‘What am I really, am I really a boy or am I a girl?’ I would just shove that back down and just try not to think about it,” Boehman said. “I was scared.”

Over time, Boehman kept poking and digging deeper into this question. “Eventually I decided to get some space from everything and spend time just looking back at how I’ve always felt,” Boehman said. Leading up to this she tended to wear gender-neutral or women’s clothing. “It really helped me come to terms with my [gender identity].”

As a whole, the transition has been a very positive experience for Boehman, and she is very grateful for all the love and support she has received. “It is very fortunate for me,” Boehman said. “A lot of people don’t get that. [For] a lot of people, their parents aren’t supportive or their friends aren’t supportive. I’m very grateful that my parents and all my friends support this transition.”

Although Boehman was worried about the negative attention she might receive, she now knows that “though there are a lot of people out there who may try and tear you down for being who you are, there is always someone on your side.”