This is a different sort of coming-of-age story. This is the story of James a female to male transgender teenager who has decided that now is the time to share with his family exactly who he is hoping that they will continue to love and support him. Unfortunately, when James gets the courage to share this information by sitting his family down in the living room as he holds a basketball in his hands for support, he slowly watches every person that he has ever loved exit out of the room including his mother. He then hopes that his friends at school will still be there to support him but the way in which they support him is that of being silent but present. Which for him he decides is better than absent and silent. He feels like he is isolated and alone with no true friends and no family to lean on when he realizes that someone who has always been around him is still in his corner, his friend Sean. It is in this moment that Sean accepts James for who he is and continues to be his friend and keep him safe at school and eventually the two begin to secretly date. And just when things begin to find some level of balance James’s life is turned on its side yet again when he finds out that he is pregnant. This is a story of strength in the midst of loneliness, a kind of loneliness that most of us will never experience in our lives. But through all of that, this person is able to find their footing, keep their head up, keep their focus forward, and continue on with life as best they can. And even when life hits him again, he finds the strength to stand up and push on. In the end, things will be as they will be, because some things are in our control and other things are not. But in his loss he finds the strength to open our eyes another day and realize that all we can do is what we can do. *This performance is written for a transgender performer.