Jennifer Spears:
CLASS OF 1972
Carolina High SchoolClass of 1972
Greenville, SC
North Greenville CollegeClass of 1978
Tigerville, SC
Tanglewood Middle SchoolClass of 1968
Greenville, SC
West Gantt Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Greenville, SC
Jennifer's Story
Life
Life, as Steven Tyler sang once, is a journey, not a destination. My coming out publicly as transgender in May 2005 showed me just how much things could, and would, change on this "fantastic voyage" we call life! I had always thought it was just something to be endured (a destination). Instead, I found out it was indeed a journey, sometimes daily, by the minute or by the hour. I am now over six years into the physical part of my transformation from male to female. I have had one of the two surgeries toward my ultimate goal. I continue to live and work fulltime as a woman and hope to someday have the final reassignment surgery. I think now ~ especially after having revealed this part of myself right here on the Internet, that it was such a deep dark secret that I was so afraid of anyone finding out ~ that when the time finally came to reveal it, it was anticlimactic, like, "Oh, OK. So what else is new?" I have always known, my entire life, that I was very different from everyone else. I just didn't know how different. (And anyone can construe that to mean whatever they want, eh?) I am still happily married, for 24-plus years now. My wife continues to be my staunchest ally on this journey, which can still be painful at times. And for those who know him -- my brother still supports and loves me and has stood beside me. The journey has not been without its costs. But one must persevere through life's crises, for it does indeed make us stronger. Love has kept me sane through this -- the love of my wife, my brother, my friends and co-workers who support me, my church, my Internet support group, my real-life support group. I am meeting others of "my kind" now, and finding that there are quite a few of us among "normal" folks, and we are finding the courage to step up and live our lives ~ without shame or fear ~ by simply saying, "This is me. Like it or leave it, this is who I am." And we certainly find out very quickly who can live with it, and who can't. I bear no malice tow...Expand for more
ard anyone who can't deal with it. I pity their shortsightedness, though. And I pray that someday their beliefs and mine will dovetail and allow us to find enough common ground to once again meet comfortably. (This is beginning to happen with some of my older friends, those from say 20 years or better). I even can hope that someone here at Classmates who reads this and wonders about themselves can begin to quest for answers. If you can find them, and I have helped you in even the tiniest way, then I am content. After all, the world can't be changed in a single day, now can it? *gentle smile* --- Sincerely, Jennifer
School
Without a doubt, the teacher who was the single biggest influence on me at Carolina High was Mrs. Dorothy Blackston. I remember when I found out I was going to have to take her class in the 11th grade -- I was horrified. I had heard nothing good, it was always about how hard she was. Well, after a year of taking history from her, I fought like crazy to get back in her class for my senior year. She was the one teacher I learned the most from at Carolina. She is the only one I had for two years. The second-biggest influence on me at Carolina was Elizabeth Fant my senior year, our journalism teacher. She was young, and probably not hard enough on us when she needed to be. But I knew she cared about us all. And I remember her with great affection, even today. At North Greenville, the single biggest influence on me was undoubtedly Dean Samuel Brissie, bless his dear departed soul. He was strict but loving with anyone who took his classes. He was approachable and you could always learn from him if you were willing to work. And when I took his Speech class in the 1977-78 school year to finish my degree, I gained even more respect for the man. I spoke with him many years later, only shortly before he departed this life. He remembered me, as did he all his students. He was, as always, gracious and charming. He was truly a learned, gifted educator and a man of God.
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