Happiness

Oliver hadn’t always been an openly Trans Man. He’d not always felt safe to be openly himself. It’d take over a decade for him to finally feel comfortable in his own skin. He’d begun living his life as an openly Trans Man after leaving the town that’d never loved him. Along with its denizens that let their actions speak for them. People who’d never practiced what they preached. He’d begun letting his actions speak for him. He’d kept to himself while working in a Dishwashing job. He’d not been able to save much. The little he saved he planned on using to keep a roof over his head when he moved. Strained relationships with others happened far more. His mothers death over twenty years prior from a Brain Aneurysm left him feeling out of place. He didn’t know anyone who’d lost a parent in the way he had. So he’d bottled it up. Until he let it out through his writing. 

He’d gone after his dreams within the Writing field. He’d become a Memoirist. He wanted nothing more than to share his story. In whatever way that looked like. It’d meant writing about aspects of his life. He’d become a successful Memoirist in Oaks Magazine. A New York magazine that saw potential in his writing. They didn’t care that he didn't have a BA in Writing. His talent and potential spoke louder than having a degree. He listened to feedback others gave him. He read more than most thought or realized. He’d let his writing do the talking for him. Writing that showed just how cruel people could be. That others could be just as kind. He’d begun sharing about his mother’s death far more. How it’d changed him. How he’d rather help others. He knew writing about it would help others even when it didn’t seem like it.

That’s a lot to go through” Cassidy sighed
Yeah, I know. I’ve kept going knowing better days will come. Even when it hasn’t seemed like it” Oliver replied
I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through” Damien chimed in
I can’t believe I’ve made it through what I’ve been through. I’m happy I’m here though” Oliver answered 

He’d been far happier living in New York. Despite the rocky start to his life there. He’d gone no contact with his dad, as well as nearly everyone else, after an argument with his dad. Julian had spread lies about what happened that had come back to haunt him. The Dementia diagnosis didn’t help. He was placed into an Assisted Living Facility. Oliver wasn’t willing to come back to care for him. Nobody could blame him. Everyone tried talking to him. It was too late by that point. He’d wanted nothing to do with them by then. Their actions had spoken for them so he was letting his do the same.

He’d been living in an abandoned building, in the dead of winter, with few articles of clothing that kept him warm. He’d done his best with the little money he had. He’d left with two thousand dollars. He’d somehow kept his job as a Barista at a coffee shop near the abandoned building while looking for writing jobs. They job at the Magazine had led to a more stable life.

“It’s there for a reason” Talia mentioned
“Yeah, I know. I’m thankful you’ve helped” Oliver replied

He’d befriended people that became family. People that helped him find resources he’d not wanted to take. He wanted those resources to go to people in more need of them. They reminded him he was in as much need as others around the city. The studio apartment he’d moved into wasn’t much. It’d been enough for him though. He eventually moved into a decently sized one bedroom in Brooklyn a year after he began writing the column.