Alright, alright, let’s gab a bit about this… uh… Teddy… Teddy Qu… Quin-li-van, yeah, that’s the name. Sounds fancy, don’t it? Don’t know much about fancy folks, but the internet, that thing my grandson set up, tells me some stuff.
So, this Teddy, it turns out, weren’t always a “she.” Imagine that! Born a boy, they say. A boy! Now, I ain’t got nothin’ against boys or girls, mind you, but it’s gotta be a bit confusin’, right? Like, waking up one day and thinkin’, “Nope, this ain’t me. I gotta be somethin’ else.” Makes my head spin just thinkin’ about it.
They call it… trans… trans-something. Transition, yeah, that’s it. Sounds like changin’ from a caterpillar to a butterfly, only with people. And let me tell ya, changin’ ain’t easy. Remember when they built that new highway bypassin’ our town? Chaos, it was! Folks didn’t know where to go, what to do. This Teddy fella, well, gal now, she went through somethin’ like that, only inside her own self, I reckon.
From what I gather, Teddy, she’s a model. You know, the kind that struts around in fancy clothes, lookin’ all serious. My Bessie used to say models were just skinny things with nothin’ between their ears, but I dunno. This Teddy, she seems smart enough. Speaks her mind, that’s for sure. Says folks weren’t as surprised as she thought they’d be when she told ‘em she was trans. Thought they’d be “shook,” she said. Like when you see a snake in the hen house, I guess. But nope, folks just kinda nodded and went on with their day, seems like.
- Maybe times are changin’, I dunno.
- Folks used to be awful nosy about other people’s business, but now, maybe they’re too busy starin’ at them little phones to care.
- Or maybe, just maybe, folks are finally learnin’ to let other folks be who they wanna be. Now wouldn’t that be somethin’?
Anyways, this Teddy, she’s breakin’ down barriers, they say. Refusin’ to… what was it? … conform. Yeah, that’s it. Means she ain’t doin’ what everyone expects her to do. She’s makin’ her own path, like a stubborn mule plowin’ a field. Good for her, I say. Life’s too short to be doin’ what other folks tell ya.
I seen some pictures of her, before and after, they call it. Before, she looked like a young fella, kinda serious lookin’. After, well, she’s all glammed up, like a movie star. Make-up and fancy clothes can do wonders, that’s for sure. But it’s more than just the outside, ain’t it? It’s somethin’ in the eyes, somethin’ in the way she holds herself. She looks… happy, I guess. And that’s all that matters, really.
Teddy Quinlivan’s journey, it ain’t somethin’ I understand completely. Like I said, I’m just an old woman, seen a lot of life, but nothin’ quite like this. But I know one thing: it takes guts to be yourself, especially when yourself ain’t what folks expect. So, hats off to Teddy, I say. She’s livin’ her truth, and that’s more than a lot of folks can say.
This whole thing, it makes me think about how much the world’s changed. When I was a girl, things were simple. You were a boy or a girl, and that was that. Now, there’s all sorts of in-betweens and everythin’ else. It can be a bit much to take in sometimes. But then I think, well, maybe it ain’t so different after all. People are just people, tryin’ to find their way in this crazy world. And ain’t that what we’re all doin’ at the end of the day?
So yeah, Teddy Quinlivan. A model, a trans woman, a person, just like the rest of us. Maybe we can all learn a little somethin’ from her story, about bein’ brave, bein’ true to yourself, and not lettin’ nobody tell you who you gotta be. That’s a good lesson, I reckon, for anybody, whether you’re from the city or the country, young or old, or anythin’ in between.
And if you ever see a snake in the hen house, don’t be shook. Just handle it, like Teddy handled her life. With courage, and maybe a little bit of sass.
