By Izola If you listen to my podcast, The Popcorn Podcast, you are no stranger as to who Tru Wilson is and the importance of her being named one of the 50 most powerful people in Vancouver. For those of you who aren’t familiar, I will give you the short version of how I learned of Tru’s journey.nnChad (Osuna) and I met almost two years ago and we decided to do a podcast together. Through Chad I had the pleasure of meeting Garfield Wilson: Personal trainer, talented actor, and a damned amazing singer. Throughout the year I have kept in communication with him and he has been on our podcast a few times. One such time he shared the story of his daughter Tru and the journey their family has been on. (Episode 37- Unconditional Love)nn
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“Those who had supportive adults both inside and outside the family were four times more likely to report good or excellent mental health and were four times less likely to have considered suicide, the study found. As well, those with a supportive adult in the family are much less likely to self-harm.
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The report, called Being Safe, Being Me, drew from the responses of 923 trans youths between the ages of 14 and 25, from every province and territory except Yukon and Nunavut. It is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind on trans-youth health in Canada.” –The Globe and Mail; 5/6/2015
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nThere are many people out there who do not have the same support system as Tru and it saddens me to think that so many suffer in silence because they are afraid to show others their true self or their friends and family abandon them because they are too afraid to understand. The Dalai Lama recently said,n
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“I sometimes wish that grown human beings were more like children, who are naturally open and accepting of others. Instead, as we grow up, we fail to nurture our natural potential and our sense of fundamental human values. We need to learn to distinguish emotions like anger and attachment that are destructive from positive ones like compassion that are a source of happiness.”
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nBe your true self. If those around you do not understand and won’t accept you, believe me, there are others who will accept you with open arms. You are never alone. And for those of you who are having a hard time understanding and accepting, heed the Dalai Lama’s advice. Do not allow your own ignorance to take hold of your life and lose sight of what is most important. Your loved ones.nnBelow are some links about Tru’s story. Listen, learn, love, understand. A very special thank you to Tru for sharing her story. You are a beautiful, courageous girl and I cannot wait to see how you change the world! Thank you Garfield for sharing Tru’s experience with us. I am blessed and honored to call you friend.nnXOXOnnIzolann