A Transgender Teen Gets His Day On the Ice

When it comes to living out your dreams, there are some that accomplish such in a lifetime and those that hit the ceiling with the dream before they are the legal age of 18. A teen out of Canada got his chance in the sun and, ironically, on the ice. But the beauty of this story comes from the fact that this teen is beyond extraordinary, in the sense that he began as a she.

In a day and age when support for transgender teens has become more and more evident in the free world, people born in the wrong bodies, who never quite feel locked into their skin, are now living in a society where they may get the opportunity to feel like who they are meant to be with the help of well, modern science, technology and medicine – and positive support from friends and family. Some may say that taking puberty halting hormones from the age of nine never gave Anneke (who is now Cory) a chance to know who she was before she was able to see if the change of gender is the correct choice to lean towards. But he’ll tell you now that he knew for sure at a very early age that this was the right move.

The family had decisions to make, but even more as it all became more real, Anneke had to make a choice that may seem minor to most, but in this situation, means the rest of her life: choosing a name. It took their family quite sometime to select the name that was absolutely appropriate to represent her for the rest of her life and, as Anneke began to age, her interests in sports, especially hockey, became what motivated her most.

So, when Anneke’s mother suggested “Cory”, Anneke knew then that a favorite hockey player by the name of Cory Schneider was the right choice. Channeling the strength to move forward in a dark time with the help of your hero is one thing; being able to finally meet that hero in person one day and then skate on the ice with him is certainly another. Dreams come true, but imagine how overwhelming it would be to thank the person you feel gave you the strength to survive in a very confusing world.

That’s what happened that day when Cory was surprised with the opportunity to come face-to-face with hockey legend Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks. The man that may or may not have known that for years he was saving a child’s life one game at a time. A story like this will make human hearts around the world fill with love. And, in the end, that’s what our children need most: love, obviously. (And, tickets to a Canucks game.)

Featured Image via Shutterstock