ellie krug

She cautioned that my status as a transgender woman likely would generate some strong negativity, and given that, she would understand if I wanted to pass on running.

We are all survivors of the human condition. All of us are attempting to make our way through the world. If we could go across the room and ask everybody to tell us “what makes you happy, what makes you sad, what challenge you have had in life, what success you have had, what makes you tick” — three things would happen.

How you can help me is get me in front of people who think that I am odd, and I will show them that I am not.

Minnesota Women’s Press columnist Ellie Krug collects stories of kindness, pain, and support from around the country. Here is some

How do we fix things? Is there a magical solution? Can we ever get past the fear?

What I was once totally oblivious to now shapes how I decide who I will allow into my intimate life.

Women, find your freedom. Live it. Love it. Be grateful for it.

For me, it is about wanting to be loved as the true, real me — a woman with a way-too-deep-voice, who is an idealist trying to change the world for the better with what time she has left.

“When I was in the orphanage, they put me in charge of the younger children because I could relate, because I cared. I guess that’s carried over.”

On the flight back to Minneapolis I researched why “tribe” and “tribalism” are so problematic. I learned that the words originated with white Christian conquerors and their violence toward not only Native people, but Africans as well.

If compassion is core to who you are, there is no problem that cannot be solved, no hurdle that cannot be jumped, and no divide that cannot be crossed.

I spent several hours reading the notecards and remembering what it was like to be loved unconditionally.