I've been swimming since I was nine. I got into a bunch of different sports when I was younger and swimming just kind of stuck because I don't like running and I don't like getting hit in the head with stuff. So swimming is pretty good for avoiding both of those things.

I got pretty serious about swimming when I got to high school. All my best friends from high school, I met and interacted with mostly through swimming. I met my girlfriend of three and a half years, from being on the same swim team.

I had some great experiences with swimming in high school, and carried on swimming in college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. When I got there, I was learning that I was going to be the first transgender athlete at my university, which was kind of scary.

But my swim coach was really supportive and willing to just learn. My team was also very supportive and open, and I didn’t have any problems with them. I did face some challenges, but in terms of positive experiences within my team, I felt very accepted, which was very nice.

Being the first transgender athlete to compete at WPI was very scary because I had no one to base my decisions off of, or to talk to about my experiences.

It was wonderful that my coach let me take the reins on doing what made me feel comfortable. But, when no one has come before you, it's hard to try to make what someone might describe as the ‘good decision’ or the ‘best decision’ for not only myself, but for whoever would come after me.

[As told to @Ragi Gupta — to be continued]