#DrewsViews: It Gets Better

by Andrew Adams

A few days ago, I was sitting in my Introduction to Philosophy class, watching our very eccentric professor wander around the lecture hall on a rant about that day’s topic. He started talking about happiness, and how everyone has their own definition, and how it’s the goal of life is to eventually find true happiness. I started to think about my own definition of happiness, and I realized something: I’m happy.

This was a statement I never thought I’d be able to honestly say. I’m in college, living on my own, pursuing my dreams by working towards my degree, with a loving boyfriend, a job I enjoy, a vibrant group of friends, and enough money to be comfortable. I truly didn’t think I’d ever have this kind of life.

When I was in middle and high school, I’d hear older people both online and in person say that things would get better when we got older. College students were emphasizing how different college is and how much better it is than high school, and high school students were saying the same thing about high schoolers to middle schoolers. I mostly tuned them out. I didn’t think it was true. For the longest time, I was very unhappy mentally, and I was resigned to the fact that that was my life.

That day in philosophy class, I realized that those older kids were right. It does get better.

If you are struggling, just know that the same will be true for you. Keep hope in your heart that one day things will get better, and strive to get to that point the best that you can. You can do this. You can get better too.

About the Author:

Andrew Adams is a transgender college freshman at the University of Central Florida who is committed to LGBTQ advocacy at the local and national levels. Nationally, Andrew serves as a youth ambassador and advocacy volunteer for The Trevor Project, a youth social media ambassador for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and a Volunteer and Intern Coordinator for Point of Pride. On the legislative side, Drew lobbies for the Equality Act by visiting with his Congressional representatives and their staff.

Additionally, Andrew has spent years fighting to change his school district’s bathroom policy to be trans-inclusive, and the fight is still ongoing. Andrew is an International Baccalaureate student and a volunteer at the Mayo Clinic, and he hopes to go to medical school and become an adolescent psychiatrist specializing in transgender health. For fun, he practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, creates sculpture art and plays the piano.