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This Is For Trans People And Anyone Else Out There Facing Tough Challenges. You’re Not Alone!
Excerpt from my memoir “Paralian: Not Just Transgender,” Chapter 5, “Swabian Ocean”: “As a teenager, I started to feel like a dwindling army, spread over too many fronts. Slowly but surely, I spiraled into a deep depression. My parents were in no position to help me. <...> I had no choice but to overcome all obstacles by myself.”
Gradually, the stress at home, alongside my other troubles of a Transgender male, became too much for me to handle. I became suicidal. During this phase of my life, I frequently jumped up onto bridge railings, despite being probably the worst athlete anyone had ever laid eyes on. With no sense of balance or coordination, I would teeter at the edge of the abyss. <...> Thankfully, these moments of tempting fate taught me how much I loved being alive. After only a few months of contemplating taking my own life, I dug deep and found courage. And I made a decision: whenever faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, I would do my best to stop running, stop resisting, and instead choose to embrace them.”
I’ve experienced times like these more than once over the years (and probably will again). It just got too much sometimes as I became a sherpa struggling through my very own Himalayan mountain ranges. As life added bag by bag to my transsexual load, the weight began crushing me. Laboring on, lonely, caught in a storm, the air thinning with every step I took, it seemed soothing and attractive to simply jump off the edge of a cliff and have it done with.
I am glad I never jumped. It’s not just a cliche: there always IS a way. And life is damn beautiful precisely because those forbidding mountain ranges sometimes rise up way too high in front of us. So we go forward, put one proverbial, optimistic hiking boot in front of the other, over and over, until we conquer those mountains. We have the strength to do it more than once in life if we have to. And along the way, throughout our journey, we discover moments of pure happiness we’d never have found otherwise.
More info: liamklenk.com
RELATED:
1972 – 1st birthday with mom
1973 – a small boy trapped in a girl’s body
1978 – 1st grade portrait
1982 – at home with my dog Cora
1985 – with my grandma
1990 – High School graduation
1995 – still trapped, a month before gender reassignment surgery
1998 – the times in between
2001 – at lake Zurich with Sami
2002 – in a hat and a suit
2004 – studying natural sciences
2006 – happiest in the water
2008 – traveling in Palawan
2009 – diving Mexico’s cenotes
2013 – graduating in Hong Kong
2016 – taking life by the horns. Being who I always was: Liam!
No one can tell you who you are. You know best. Embrace it and be true to yourself. It’s the only way to be happy!
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What do you think ?
Ariela Hornstein 9 years ago
You sound like an incredible human being - smart, sensitive, kind and very very courageous. A true inspiration!!
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you Ariela. I am far from perfect :) Just always trying to do the right thing. I hope in the future I can reach out more, and make a real difference. Thanks for your support xx
Load More Replies...
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
This is a reply for Limin Huang: I worked in Macau for 4 years for a big show called "The House of Dancing Water", coaching artists for their underwater entries in the show. While I was there I did a diploma at the HongKong Academy for Performing Arts, commuting over on my off days. It was a grand adventure, exhausting but really worth it in so many ways. Plus I met my wife there :) I never thought I'd meet anyone in HK to be honest and surprisingly we bumped into each other :)
Load More Replies...
Saumya 9 years ago
I think more people need to hear your story. You can be a motivation for millions. I wish you the very best in all your future endeavours.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
3 years ago I fulfilled myself a life's dream and took a 1-year sabbatical to write a book about my life so far. It's called Paralian: Not Just Transgender (because yes I am trans and proud of it but I am also the sum of my experiences). I hope the story will go out there slowly, and I dream of maybe being allowed to give TED talks in the future. I want to reach out. I don't want to tell people what to do. Rather I'd love to keep sharing my experiences in a very authentic, genuine way and then they can interpret it all as it fits best for them. Thank you Saumya. All the very best!
Load More Replies...
over opinionated 9 years ago
I wish what people understood the difficulties that not being comfortable in the skin they were given. I applaud your courage and hope for a more tolerant society. I'm sharing your story with my friend Jake (Dianna) who is struggling with becoming true to himself (religious upbringing) thanks for sharing your an inspiration
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Hello and thank you. Plus give my best regards to your friend Jake. If he ever wants to chat or has any questions, I'll be there. Just tell him to go to my website liamklenk.com and there is a contact page. If he writes me from there it goes straight into my inbox xxx I also hope that one day we won't need to label people so much anymore. And that gender won't be seen binary but rather as something fluid. I read the other day that many Native American tribes believed and accepted up to 9 genders... anything from trans to binary to female to male. It seems even back then they were already much smarter and more accepting about these things than we are :) I see the person, the human being in front of me. And I believe who they tell me they are and don't judge. Because they know best. After all they're living in their body, not me. I'll do my best over the years to try and help make a tiny bit of difference. Best wishes xxx
Load More Replies...
Helen Lewis 9 years ago
Fabulously honest, open post by a lovely guy...Paralian is the book to read if you're in need of a boost in your life, whatever your circumstances.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you, I hope my story will reach many more xx
Load More Replies...
Susanna Vesna 9 years ago
You are so handsome! <3 I really enjoyed your video! Don't know who would say no to employing you! You have got very kind and beautiful eyes! I wish you all the best!
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you Susanna xx all the best for you, too!
Load More Replies...
Emy Reynoso 9 years ago
This is NOT ONLY for transgenders, but also for us, who think that we struggle with so much in life and are so ungrateful, without knowing that, some others have it much worse, in different aspects in life. I loved your story, I really appreciate that you have the courage of sharing it with the inter-world, and I really like the peace and good energy you reflect in this video, like everything in your life is where its supposed to be. Thanks a lot, you've made me a better person today.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Dear Emy, thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me. Struggle comes in all forms and shapes though and we can't easily put value on it or compare it. Life isn't easy on any of us. What matters is how we deal with things and that no matter what we remain respectful to each other and try to make the best of it. Much love xx
Load More Replies... Ariela Hornstein 9 years ago
You sound like an incredible human being - smart, sensitive, kind and very very courageous. A true inspiration!!
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you Ariela. I am far from perfect :) Just always trying to do the right thing. I hope in the future I can reach out more, and make a real difference. Thanks for your support xx
Load More Replies... paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
This is a reply for Limin Huang: I worked in Macau for 4 years for a big show called "The House of Dancing Water", coaching artists for their underwater entries in the show. While I was there I did a diploma at the HongKong Academy for Performing Arts, commuting over on my off days. It was a grand adventure, exhausting but really worth it in so many ways. Plus I met my wife there :) I never thought I'd meet anyone in HK to be honest and surprisingly we bumped into each other :)
Load More Replies... Saumya 9 years ago
I think more people need to hear your story. You can be a motivation for millions. I wish you the very best in all your future endeavours.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
3 years ago I fulfilled myself a life's dream and took a 1-year sabbatical to write a book about my life so far. It's called Paralian: Not Just Transgender (because yes I am trans and proud of it but I am also the sum of my experiences). I hope the story will go out there slowly, and I dream of maybe being allowed to give TED talks in the future. I want to reach out. I don't want to tell people what to do. Rather I'd love to keep sharing my experiences in a very authentic, genuine way and then they can interpret it all as it fits best for them. Thank you Saumya. All the very best!
Load More Replies... over opinionated 9 years ago
I wish what people understood the difficulties that not being comfortable in the skin they were given. I applaud your courage and hope for a more tolerant society. I'm sharing your story with my friend Jake (Dianna) who is struggling with becoming true to himself (religious upbringing) thanks for sharing your an inspiration
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Hello and thank you. Plus give my best regards to your friend Jake. If he ever wants to chat or has any questions, I'll be there. Just tell him to go to my website liamklenk.com and there is a contact page. If he writes me from there it goes straight into my inbox xxx I also hope that one day we won't need to label people so much anymore. And that gender won't be seen binary but rather as something fluid. I read the other day that many Native American tribes believed and accepted up to 9 genders... anything from trans to binary to female to male. It seems even back then they were already much smarter and more accepting about these things than we are :) I see the person, the human being in front of me. And I believe who they tell me they are and don't judge. Because they know best. After all they're living in their body, not me. I'll do my best over the years to try and help make a tiny bit of difference. Best wishes xxx
Load More Replies... Helen Lewis 9 years ago
Fabulously honest, open post by a lovely guy...Paralian is the book to read if you're in need of a boost in your life, whatever your circumstances.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you, I hope my story will reach many more xx
Load More Replies... Susanna Vesna 9 years ago
You are so handsome! <3 I really enjoyed your video! Don't know who would say no to employing you! You have got very kind and beautiful eyes! I wish you all the best!
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you Susanna xx all the best for you, too!
Load More Replies... Emy Reynoso 9 years ago
This is NOT ONLY for transgenders, but also for us, who think that we struggle with so much in life and are so ungrateful, without knowing that, some others have it much worse, in different aspects in life. I loved your story, I really appreciate that you have the courage of sharing it with the inter-world, and I really like the peace and good energy you reflect in this video, like everything in your life is where its supposed to be. Thanks a lot, you've made me a better person today.
paralian (Post author) 9 years ago
Dear Emy, thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me. Struggle comes in all forms and shapes though and we can't easily put value on it or compare it. Life isn't easy on any of us. What matters is how we deal with things and that no matter what we remain respectful to each other and try to make the best of it. Much love xx
Load More Replies...
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