{"id":72267,"date":"2019-07-30T05:55:36","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T09:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=72267"},"modified":"2019-07-30T06:26:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T10:26:39","slug":"guts-and-glory-meet-riley-mcentee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/guts-and-glory-meet-riley-mcentee\/","title":{"rendered":"Guts and glory: Meet Riley McEntee"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Every month, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life or has an inspiring story to share, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Riley McEntee always knew he was different.<\/p>\n

He’s only 19 but he’s got a life story that would make for an epic best seller.<\/p>\n

His smile is sweet and his eyes have a worldliness to them. He’s bold and eccentric and he’s got something important to say. Because once upon a time Riley was assigned female at birth. He’s aware of the misconceptions. He knows first-hand that they come from a lack of understanding.<\/p>\n

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Riley has a lot to smile about! He’s come so far in his journey toward self acceptance.<\/p><\/div>\n

The light in his eyes and the pep in his step is reflective of how good he feels these days. He’s a trans man and he’s proud of it. He had to hide his true self for too long, sort of sweep it under the rug that he wasn’t in the right body. It was no way to live. In fact, there were many times when he didn’t want to. But now that the cat is out of the bag, Riley is on top of the world.<\/p>\n

“I’m golden,” he says. And you can actually hear the truth in that statement. “It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable in my own skin.”<\/p>\n

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Riley just so happens to have a love for politics which helps him use his voice to advocate for others.<\/p><\/div>\n

Just the other day he went swimming for the first time in three years. He couldn’t wait to take off his shirt. It was a liberating and exciting moment because it was only eight weeks ago he had top surgery (a bilateral mastectomy). The scars are a reminder of how far he’s come in his journey toward becoming a man.<\/p>\n

When I looked down at my chest, with the bandages still on, I just bawled. It was the first time I felt at home in my body.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When he thinks back to his childhood, things were pretty normal. Riley was just a typical tomboy who liked playing outside, making mudpies and waking up early to watch Pokemon. He loved video games and he wore baggy jeans and all his friends were guys.<\/p>\n\n\t\t