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She’d been nominated to her Orlando school’s homecoming court, with enough votes to get her name on the ballot for homecoming queen. She thought she might have a shot at winning, though she tried to avoid getting her hopes up, she said.
“I was pretty excited to walk on homecoming court and to be a part of it, but I was also nervous even if I were to win, what if people were doing it to make fun of me,” the 17-year-old high school senior told CNN. “People are cruel these days. You never know what could happen.”
Bialosuknia said her crowning has made her feel more at home at school — and her classmates’ support has shown her that most of them see her for who she is.
“It was just, like, a relief of so much anxiety, as well,” she said. “Just, like, knowing that I have everyone by my side and [they] are actually here for me … makes this process of transitioning feel a lot better.”
She’s received mostly positive responses
Bialosuknia is more comfortable in her own skin than most 17-year-olds. But her confidence is hard-won, said her mother, Marnie. Bialosuknia’s transition is a “long and difficult process,” her mother said, one that her family is supporting her through.
Since her coronation, Bialosuknia said she’s been inundated by messages of support and pride from her peers. She’s received hateful messages, too, but she said the people who send her those “don’t understand and never will.”
“Me winning isn’t trying to change anyone’s mind to accept me and understand it,” she said. “It’s just to show anyone can do anything, and if you’re a part of the LGBTQ+ community, it doesn’t make you weirder or [more of] a loner than everyone.”
“My hope is that, maybe five years from now, this wouldn’t be newsworthy,” she said. “Evan’s the first, but she won’t be the last.”
“If you present yourself as a strong, outgoing, beautiful person, then that’s how you’re going to look,” she said.
It’s advice she’s adopted herself — and by projecting that confidence, she’s starting to feel it, too.