“No person ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and they are not the same person,” ancient philosopher Heraclitus said.

Rivers. They are ever-moving and ever-changing. One flows into another, bifurcating again and again and again. They wind and straighten out, deepen and shallow, widen and narrow, pausing and surging variably, sometimes unpredictably. But, what never changes is how freely they flow.

We, as people, are rivers. So are our gender identities and sexualities.

It is natural to feel differently over time, to learn a little more about your gender fluidity. You could feel differently about the way you’d describe or express your gender identity. You may what to be referred to differently or want to dress differently, depending on whatever feels right to you and speaks to your current identity. This can happen over time or day-to-day.

Our sexual identity can take the shape of a river too. I myself have shifted course several times, currently identifying as pansexual. Or, as someone who is a lot more complex than a label and thus less attached to having one for myself, I like to say “I’m whatever,” or open to all. I have also learned in my queer community that many people — like me — identify outside of their label, but only use them because it gives people a general idea of their sexuality. On top of flowing forwards, sexual identity can always flow back and forth. It is a matter of one’s heart and will. Your sexual identity has a fluctuating and adaptable nature, so explore it!

Keep stepping through the river. You may be caught off guard sometimes, but I hope that by doing so, you are gradually learning more about yourself and seeing the beauty of such variability.

May you flow free like the river,

Faye