About ten years ago I decided that rather than keep my gender identity
private that I'd go public with it. Then I'd
come out to, use the phrase that it tends to be thrown
around around these issues. It was interesting that prior to
coming out that I was very focused just on doing the
technical work, the observational, and the descriptive.
Coming out enabled me to be my authentic self.
I wasn't quite so withdrawn or quite so introverted. I was able to
express myself a bit more. The way that played out in
my career is I was able to communicate a lot better.
Three or four years ago now I think I was asked to go up to Vanuatu.
The Manaro Voui volcano had been erupting. It had been erupting for about previous six
months. I was asked to go up and look
because there had been a debris flow. Debris flow characteristics either
come from volcanic eruptions as lahars or from rainstorm events. They wanted
to know whether this debris flow had been caused by the volcanic eruption
or was from a rainstorm. I went up to the island and
went and visited this village. I walked into the village.
There were all these big boulders that were one to two metres across
that come down and destroy these houses. There were sheets of corrugated iron.
There was a little fan that had built out by these boulders.
There were hundreds of boulders out across the beach that had gone right through the village and
built a fan out on the beach. Of course with the volcano
erupting was a lot of ash around. It was the kind
you could smell the sulphur in the air. So I think one of the
things that struck me when I was talking to
people is that if I'd been doing this before
I'd come out I'd have stuck to the facts
whereas having come out that it was kind of
understanding that people were distressed and
a bit more empathy and compassion for what they were going through.
Being able to listen to them
and honoring and acknowledging their knowledge.
That gave me information that as much as anything I was getting
information from them. I'd got information about the rainstorm.
Good information about their oral histories.
They wanted information me like what was going to happen.
What I can say is that the debris flow wasn't caused by the volcanic
eruption, so that's going to help.
But that there are other issues around the water supply and
sanitation and food, especially for the
annual vegetable crops on them because they have
quite short rotation. So just being much more aware of the
breadth of issues that people were facing
rather than focus purely on the technical which was as debris flow.
It was damaged. It shouldn't build the village there.
It had a much wider lens, much wider focus
that I was able to bring because I'd brought all of me.
To any young people out there that are in a situation
some of the time where they're struggling with their
gender identity or the sexual orientation.
It does get better and it's really important to be your
authentic self. It can be challenging at times -
really, really challenging. There's a lot of people who want to put you back
back in your box because they don't want to deal with your identity.
But for your own peace of mind, and
your own sanity, and your own sense of self-worth. Honour who you are.