When I was 16 I went to college. This might have been a little young to set out into the big world and experience new things. I was ready to  learn more about the world having lived in a very sheltered community. My parents were computer scientists so getting good grades was always a thing. But one thing I learned going to college was that I was not ready for the experience.

When I first dated my boyfriend I learned about the LGBT culture. This was an eye opening thing for me. I joined the LGBT group and was not initially accepted. The reason that I write the grydscaen series is that I want to provide role models for the LGBT youth community and provide stories of hope and inspiration to today’s youth.

My time in college I knew who I was but I was not easily accepted by any group. The Asians did not accept me, the Caucasian community did not accept me, the African American community did not accept me. Who I found acceptance with was a group of people from Europe, Germany, France and the UK who became my crew. They accepted me readily. When I first moved to New York City, I was surrounded my different cultures and I felt like I was at home. This multicultural feel was not something that I had experienced in Tokyo.

I remember when I first moved to New York because my boyfriend had moved there after college, I got a chance to go to the Stone Wall Inn. This place was legendary in the gay rights movement. This place may soon be an icon to gay culture in the United States.

I feel lucky that I was able to visit there multiple times. I write grydscaen to bring an LGBT friendly message and try to help causes like gay mental health causes and LGBT homeless youth issues. The grydscaen series allows me to bring issues that I feel passionate about to the forefront.

In 2015 I was able to bring “being myself” to another level. Not knowing that I was trans when I went to college I always knew something was up but I never had a term for it. There were drag queens, I knew that but unless there was a show or something theatrical I did not know where I would find a place to be myself.

Most of the issues that I have had were because of my gender expression. I was always gender neutral or agender as you call it now.  I never knew that the problems that I had with expressing myself were because of my gender expression. I remember when I was 11 that I stood in front of the mirror and stated that I wanted to be androgenous like David Bowie. At the time I did not know what that meant but there was a desire there.

Today kids have more an ability to express themselves be they gender queer or androgenous or agender. These were not terms that I had growing up. If I had these terms there might have been less pain in my teenage years. I am happy for kids today who can get hormones so they don’t experience the wrong puberty and have their parents support them. My parents did not support me and still to this day do not. So that is something that I want to provide with the grydscaen series an outlet for those that do not have the support they need. I know if there had been a book series like grydscaen when I was growing up that I may not have had such an issue.

I think with 2015 I was able to begin being my genuine self that I had wanted to for a long time. Lino from grydscaen and Faid are the voices that I have and want to show. I also show Rom and LGBT homeless teen to show the plight of some gay teens when they come out. grydscaen lets me do many things.

The next book in the grydscaen series called grydscaen: insurrection features many LGBT characters. I wanted to show the different sides of the gay community, the sides that I did not get to experience properly as a young teenager. This is what I want to put forth in grydscaen.