I think, for me, with regard to my parents, my biggest fear was not that they would reject me but that I would disappoint them. That by coming out, I would simultaneously dash my own dreams and their dreams for me, and I was afraid of letting them down.

Sarah McBride

I remember, as a child, lying in my bed at night praying that I would wake up the next day and be a girl, to be my authentic self, and to just have my family be proud of me. I remember looking into the mirror struggling to say just two words, 'I'm transgender.'

Sarah McBride

In my view, the best of humanity is in our exercise of empathy and compassion. It's when we challenge ourselves to walk in the shoes of someone whose pain or plight might seem so different than yours that it's almost incomprehensible.

Sarah McBride

I want to make sure that people understand that, behind this national conversation around transgender rights, there are real people who hurt when they're mocked, who hurt when they're discriminated against, and who just want to be treated with dignity and respect.

Sarah McBride

I think that someday we will live in a world where transgender people will be viewed as the multidimensional people that we are.

Sarah McBride

There is no one-size-fits-all narrative; everyone's path winds in different ways.

Sarah McBride

Change always seems impossible until it's inevitable.

Sarah McBride

Trans issues are also environmental issues. They're also healthcare issues. They're also national security issues.

Sarah McBride

For me, having a gender identity that was different from my sex assigned at birth and that wasn't seen by society felt like a constant feeling of homesickness - that unwavering ache in the pit of my stomach.

Sarah McBride

I didn't come out for 21 years because I thought that everything I wanted to do with my life - have a family, get a great job, make a change in this world - that the moment I came out, that I would not be able to do any of those things.

Sarah McBride

Will we be a nation where there's only one way to love, one way to look, one way to live? Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally?

Sarah McBride

I grew up in an upper-income household, in an accepting environment, and with incredible educational opportunities.

Sarah McBride

The first time I heard the word 'transgender' had been in a sitcom episode that mocked the potential for cisgender people to find people like me attractive. Every time someone expressed any interest in the gorgeous trans guest character - her identity still a secret to most of the main characters in the show - the laugh track would cue.

Sarah McBride

Instead of moving backward, we should expand opportunity and protections by repealing hateful laws and passing comprehensive LGBT nondiscrimination laws at the local, state, and federal level.

Sarah McBride

If I only care about equality for transgender people, then I am leaving so many people behind - if I'm not at the same time seeking to end discrimination against people of color, seeking to end discrimination against women, seeking to ensure that people of every religious background have an equal opportunity.

Sarah McBride

Gorsuch showed his true colors to the LGBTQ community when, in one of his first dissenting opinions on the high court, he advocated limiting the reach of the landmark 2015 marriage equality ruling by denying certain parenting rights to same-sex couples.

Sarah McBride

No one should be forced to not dream anymore.

Sarah McBride

The first thing we need allies to do is listen. Come to us with a willingness to grow and evolve. You're going to make mistakes, and that's fine, but be willing to listen and grow from those mistakes. I think that's the most important trait an ally can have.

Sarah McBride

For some, the fear of coming out is so great, they can continue to live an inauthentic life. But at a certain point, the pain becomes too much to bear. For me, having one more day pass by where I wasn't living my true self seemed like such a wasted opportunity, such a wasted life.

Sarah McBride

There's no question that the best way to get people to care about an issue is to humanize it.

Sarah McBride

Homophobia, transphobia, and sexism, they're all rooted in the same prejudice: the belief that one perception at birth - the sex we are assigned - should dictate who we are, who we love, how we act, and what we do.

Sarah McBride