Eighth grader Callie Wojcikowski didn’t like bullying, especially when it was directed at her pocket-sized group of friends. So,when a boy made fun of Wojcikowski’s close friend, she punched the bully in the face.

     Fast-forward four years to senior year and Wojcikowski, who is transgender, has discovered who she is. She has transitioned from a boy who was once suicidal, to a bright, lovable, young girl who’s ready to take on the world.

    Wojcikowski was not always this happy during the process however. She has been faced with many obstacles, mainly depression and anxiety, during her transition period.

    “Eighth grade was not a good time for me. I was super depressed, was in the boyscouts with a group of Mormons and, for a transgender kid I was super confused with myself,”she said.

    She said the hardest part was telling her friends and family that she no longer wanted to be seen as a male.

    “I was talking with my mom a few months ago about my gender, what my life’s going to be like after I change my gender. I’m such a great person now and I could lose so much of that. I remember she ended off with ‘why can’t you just be a feminine boy?’” Wojcikowski said.

     However, art teacher Jackie Wargo said she admires Wojcikowski and doesn’t see her sexuality, but instead sees her for who she is.

    “I see Callie as a very intelligent, interesting individual. The gender she identifies with does not have any bearing on my opinion of her,” Wargo said. “I try to view my students by their work ethic and attitude, not by other factors in their lives that they cannot control.”

     Throughout the Thespian Society, H-F’s drama club, Wojcikowski is called by her preferred name of Callie, and Director Jill Boniva welcomes her with open arms.

    “Everything about Callie makes me smile. She is such a kind, intelligent, thoughtful, talented person, that she brightens my day whenever she is there,” Boniva said.

     Although Wojcikowski is accepted by her new peers.

    “People have questioned me about my sexuality from a religious standpoint, and I realized, I got to be careful as I tread,”she said.

    Finding herself was an act she could not do alone, but more often than not, she felt that she was. Being transgender isn’t just a gender change, but a mental change as well, and Wojcikowski makes it known to those who doubt her decisions.

    “I’m not losing any part of my personality. I’m showing more of it,”Wojcikowski said.

   She hopes to get on blockers, a medication that blocks the testosterone into the body.

     She plans on taking a gap year or two to complete her transition. She hopes that when she attends her dream school,University of Western Michigan, she can enter as Callie. Fully dressed and transitioned for a new lifestyle.