Surviving faith and family, Jaimie Wilson looks to support trans people like himself through music

For twenty-one year old Jaimie Wilson, nothing beats the feeling of rambling along in his custom Jeep Wrangler 4X4, headed for a gig to perform his beloved country music in his adopted home state of Florida. Shirtless, tanned, fit, and blonde haired, he looks like most every other young man his age who is entering adulthood trying to figure out where his path will take him.

As the Jeep rolls down the freeway, his guitar and overnight bag perched in the back seat, windows rolled down, he sings along to the radio or a CD, the oversize off-road tires humming as the miles fly by for accompaniment.

But, it wasn’t always like this, and for Wilson, life was actually pretty difficult.

He grew up the youngest of four children in rural Livingston County, Michigan, near its county seat of Howell. An area of Michigan that is deeply red, religious, and conservative. He and his three older brothers lived on their family’s horse farm, and Wilson had a secret which he knew he couldn’t share with his closest friends or his own family.

He knew, from as early as age five, that he wanted to be a boy, in fact, Wilson knew he was going to be a boy. However, a decade went by before he began to realize his dream, for you see, Wilson, was born a girl.

He described growing up as difficult, hardly permitted to be even a true Tomboy by his deeply religious and conservative family, who were opposed to anything related to the LGBTQ community. There was never, ever, any mentioning of sexual minorities in his household,

In fact, Wilson waited until the second semester of his senior year of high school to come out. Knowing that his family was hardly affirming, and like most LGBTQI youth, he had kept a very low profile. But February 4, 2015, became Wilson’s red letter day as he relates:

“When I realized that I was “different” I decided I would never come out. It just wasn’t an option for me because I knew how my family would react. It was something I was just going to have to bury deep and deal with. But I woke up one morning and decided I was done living a lie.

A few days earlier I had watched a viral video by Ruby Rose titled “Break Free” and it was like a light bulb went off. I needed to break free. So I called a nearby salon and made the earliest appointment I could. I cut my long flowing locks. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it. I just came home that day with short hair and dressed in men’s clothing.”

Wilson had spent countless hours searching YouTube and other internet portals, trying to find youths like him, trying to find himself and his place in a world where he could fit in. He describes grabbing hand-me-downs from his older brothers without their knowledge so he was able to at least pretend at “being a boy.” He related that he’d tuck his long, flowing hair up under a baseball cap, throw a pair of jeans and a shirt on and transform himself, at least for the moment, into his ‘real self’.

As with most members of the trans community, the day he decided he needed to live as his true and authentic self was traumatic.

“My mom and dad did not react well. There was a lot of crying and confusion. A lot of ridicule. They made it impossible for me to stay with them. Still in high school I was forced to move out and fend for myself.

One of my brothers initially was supportive but his opinion changed shortly after I came out. My family (mom dad and brothers) have progressively just gotten worse about my transition and we no longer have a relationship.”

Wilson anchor- in what had become a tumultuous and oft times drama filled life, was his love of music.

He had started playing piano at around the age of five and picked up playing guitar when he was 16. His mother had an old guitar she was getting ready to throw out but she offered it to him first. Music, he says, became his escape.

One of the primary outlets for his musical creativity became YouTube. In a video posted on October 15, 2013 prior to his transition, Wilson wanted to raise awareness regarding suicide among LGBTQI youth with an original song he’d written. He noted;

“My hopes for this song is not to make you sad…but to inspire you to reach out to others, because a friend, can sometimes be a life saver. -Every single person is important, and if anyone ever needs a friend or someone to talk to I’m here.”

Music, he explains, is much more than just a personal passion, it is a way to contribute- to give back.

“Being transgender, I have always struggled with trying to make others happy but I want to show that it’s okay to break free. I’m hoping with these words I can bring the community together and encourage others in similar situations to be true to themselves.”

It was the realization that his family was going to remain unsupportive and unyielding in their opposition to his decision to live his life authentically that crystallized his decision to move away from the confines of his Michigan hometown.

“I like sun and water and warm places so moving to Southern Florida made sense,” he said.

That and he really wanted to move at least somewhere that would be a place he felt where he could transition comfortably and where he had friends who were supportive.

Jaimie however, knew that he was going to be proactive and open about himself. By this time and not shy at all, he documented his journey in countless pictorial posts on social media as he made his transition. Candid photographs and then several contests he sponsored for ‘binder’ giveaways to help fellow Female to Male Trans people like himself.

He picked an Instagram handle that was his bench mark, the date of his medical transition, June 15, 2015. His selected screen name? Tboy61915.

“I started my medical transition 6/19/15 and top surgery in September 2015. It was important to me to get top surgery because I didn’t identify with having a female chest,” he said adding, “It was an amazing day and a weight off my shoulders!”