I come from a top sports background and have been involved in competitive sports (pole vault) for over 10 years. I had a beautiful childhood, great parents, girlfriends, financial status and prestige from my national and international successes in sports, but I was not happy! Although I had everything on the outside, I came to a point where I knew I couldn’t continue living like this.
My destiny and dilemma: I was born a man with female sexual characteristics and I left everything behind to become the person I am today. In retrospect, I am infinitely grateful for this path of transformation.
Fortunately, I have not yet been discriminated against face to face. I think it’s also because I’m open about my history, I inform, I educate, I answer questions… But I’m well aware that there is a lot of discrimination that often happens unconsciously or that you don’t even notice because it happens behind your back.
From experience I can say that communication, knowledge and education can change almost everything. There is so much diversity in the world, and if we’re honest, that’s what we want. When shopping, for example: there are countless different types of chocolate – dark, vegan, with nuts, raisins, with marzipan, etc.
I then ask myself the question, if we wish for so much diversity and, incidentally, need it in order to survive, why do we have such a hard time with the diversity of people?
I would like to see a world in which everyone is accepted for who they are and their strengths are seen and skills are used where they are needed. Anything else would be illogical after all my research on diversity.
There is a reason why everyone of us is in the world! Let’s look more at the positive, see what unites us and stop discriminating against what divides us.
I love the element of water and am by the sea as often as I can. It inspires me, lets me relax, gives me a different perspective, peace to be, but also energy to write and work creatively. My third book “Why Diversity Concerns Us All” was also written by the sea.
I love to laugh for my life and have made the experience that if you bring laughter into the world, in most cases it will come back. A friendly body language is understood everywhere in the world.
