College gymnast Jackson Harrison pens emotional graduation letter about accomplishing their dreams
A post shared by jackson harrison (@jack.son.h)When Jackson Harrison arrived at Arizona State, the nonbinary gymnast thought they won the “gay lottery.” Now a graduating senior, Harrison says they’ve realized their dreams.
Harrison competed last weekend at the GymACT National Championships, their final collegiate competition. While the Sun Devils wound up placing second, Harrison says their college career isn’t defined by missed chances; but rather, their triumphs. “It is with this that I remind myself that nothing is ever perfect, and it certainly is a good thing that nothing ever has to be,” they wrote in a farewell letter. “My college career is not defined by missed opportunities this weekend, but by everything I’ve been able to accomplish and everything I’ve done for my team and my community.”Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Those accomplishments include being an out and proud nonbinary person.
When Harrison was in high school, they tried to suppress their queerness. Their shame only got worse as time progressed.“I went from wearing makeup to school every day, always having my nails painted, and wearing the most creative outfits I could put together because I thought it was fun, to only wearing athletic clothes because I thought it made me look more masculine,” they wrote in their coming out essay, which was published on Outsports. “It’s not that I had stopped liking that stuff, it’s that I started to hate the person it made me look like.”Those feelings changed when Harrison stepped onto ASU’s campus as a freshman.
They started to embrace their queer self, and were instantly accepted.“I must have won the gay lottery because the amount of support and acceptance I have been gifted with throughout my life is unreal,” they wrote. “The ASU men’s gymnastics team is a family and when I moved here, I became part of that family, full queerness and all.”A post.
