I am sorry that you have experienced pain.

I’m straight, Christian, a cancer survivor. One of the things that helped me beat cancer was my art. Because of that, I teach healing art classes.

Last year I volunteered to do so at a local high school. It’s a “special” school — many of the students are from vulnerable populations.

In the class I taught, there were transgender students as well as lesbians and gays. When I first walked into the classroom, you could cut the tension and wariness with a knife.

Once the students figured out that my class was a safe space, however, I got to see how beautiful they really were. They were gentle people, but often with a really dark humor. I imagine that comes from pain.

The focus of my class was to help them find healing and peace through their creativity. We spent a little over 2 hours together.

The next day the teacher called me and told me her students really enjoyed the class and told her they did feel better after. So I feel happy about that.

I will say — I am sure over the years I’ve encountered trans people in public bathrooms. I’ve suspected it a few times. The women, though, were simply, quietly, going about their business.