Finding your people and finding yourself

With the end of the academic year coming closer and closer (can you believe how short it’s felt? I certainly can’t), it’s time to reflect on my experience in LSE halls on campus as a trans student.

It’s scary, moving into a whole new city (or country), and being ready to meet new people, without really knowing how they are going to welcome you. But it also pushes you to go above and beyond.

🏳️‍⚧️ Here is my experience navigating life at LSE as a trans person, three major lessons I learned during my time here, and the tips I took away from them (look for the ✨ emoji)!

I’m lucky enough to come from a country where universities are well adjusted to meeting the requirements of trans students. But that meant I had absolutely no clue what to expect coming to London. My first days after pre-enrollment were spent frantically researching how I could change my name pretty much everywhere: my email, Moodle, my Halls Life account… And I was able to do it super easily, except for my LSE email.

But, good news for me, emails and student IDs at LSE are formatted so that only your initials appear. This is a small detail, but it really helped me throughout the year: I didn’t feel as anxious writing emails or taking out my ID. And, even better news: trans students have been trying to organise the changing of names on emails, so it could be possible in the next few years! Wait and see…

Overall, I think what helped me the most is to remember I’m not the first one to go through this. I’m certainly not the first trans person to study at LSE without having had my name changed legally. I know, we’re all unique, but the idea of not being alone with my potential struggles was super comforting. And when it comes to interactions with teachers and staff, I’ve encountered absolutely zero problems.

✨ This would be my number one tip for people in the same situation: don’t stress, and change your name on Moodle as soon as you can (you can do it from your profile settings). It should be smooth sailing from there.

Really, this is a follow-up to the idea that you’re not the first person to go through this. LSE is a very diverse campus. Of course, get in touch with LGBTQ+ society and go to their events if you want the best chance at meeting other people who are going through the same stuff you are.

But surprisingly for me, the other trans people I met at LSE were not at LGBTQ+ society events, but at completely unrelated events during Freshers' week. I didn’t expect it, and turns out they lived in my hall too, which was just a stroke of luck!

I also joined a bunch of student groups in the first term, who worked on making LSE a more welcoming place for gender-diverse folks! For example, your next SU LGBTQ+ officer worked hard all year on creating a map of gender-neutral facilities on campus. It was super cool to see them come up with the idea.

✨ My advice would be, don’t limit yourself. If you like someone’s vibes, strike up a conversation! You never know what might happen. You might have more in common with them than you think. And if you’re interested in getting involved with the community at LSE, why not get in touch with the SU officer or the society?

Once you have met your people, there’s plenty of stuff to do in London, in halls and outside! Personally, I am looking forward to Trans+ pride. It’s in July, but hey, I’m a postgrad student who’s going to be in London writing my dissertation all summer - why not enjoy it?

Perhaps the most important lesson, if the most difficult to write about. I’ve been lucky enough to haven’t encountered massive issues of discrimination in my time here, but I know not everyone will be as lucky.

This year really taught me to learn how to affirm myself. Before I came here, I had always lived on my own, but living in Halls, I had to adapt quickly to correcting my pronouns with my flatmates, for example. It can feel like a jump off the deep end, sometimes, because you have no idea how they are going to react, but in the end, it’s necessary: can you imagine living an entire year with people who misgender you all the time? Because I couldn’t. Thankfully, there was no issue in my flat and everyone got comfortable together quickly.

Remember that if you are having an issue with a flatmate, you can talk about it with your Hall wellbeing team: they are here to help and to make your time in Halls as comfortable as possible. 

Though I learned to become more confident in correcting people, I’ve also found that in general, people at LSE have come to learn and are open about the different situations of people from different walks of life. I think everyone grows more confident and independent during their time at LSE! That’s true for your career and your academic abilities, why can’t it be true for your relationship with yourself and your boundaries too? That’s been my experience.

It was also my first time being part of such a multicultural community, where everyone had different understandings of pretty much everything, and that also allowed be to become more aware of my privileges.

✨ This would be my final piece of advice: be positive and expect the best out of people; but be open yourself. Don’t assume everyone has access to the same resources you do! Learning about what it looks like to be gender-diverse around the world is a great way to connect with international friends.