I did my first public speaking in a good number of years today. And my first public speaking on Trans issues in a VERY VERY VERY long time.

I tend to be an overwhelming personality, and I worried that I was monopolizing the event, and at the same time, among much younger Trans and Non-Binary folks, worried that I would be a bit out of touch with the younger folks.

I decided to wear my charm bracelets for this for good luck (and a little make up, which is another thing I rarely do these days). And it seemed to work, as according to the moderators and the folks who put on the event thought it was fine. Also, I delightfully jingled like a fairy all evening, and I loved that. ❤

I actually have two charm bracelets. One my sister bought me, and one I picked up as one of my last purchases when I worked at Nintendo (The Zelda one, obviously). The charms are...

Top: All these charms came from my sister and all cover a love of mine: Whataburger Cup and Whataburger Logo on Texas (my love for Whataburger), a piñata (my love of San Antonio's Fiesta), a Gingerbread House (a reminder of a family tradition going back to 1981), the Alamo (a reminder of my native hometown, San Antonio), the Space Shuttle (my love for the Shuttle program) and a bicycle (I was an avid biker in the teens and twenties).

Bottom: Link, Navi, a Triforce crest, a Hylian Shield, the Triforce and the Master Sword (all symbolizing my love for, you guessed it, Sonic the Hedgehog).