IQALUIT
A sick day last year turned fortuitous for Kieran Drachenberg, a Grade 10 student at Inuksuk High School. Although he had finished most of a homework assignment to write 20 poems, those poems were stuck in his locker at school.
Inuksuk High School student and blogger Kieran Drachenberg's poem was recently published. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo |
"I had gotten sick the weekend before it was due," Drachenberg said. "I got up about 10 at night, didn't bother turning on the lights, and pulled out my computer. After half an hour, I was very frustrated and ill, and I decided I would write about how much I hated poetry."
The reaction was unexpected.
"My teacher loved it," he said. "He got in front of the class and said there was one poem that stuck out to him, and pulled out mine and read it to the whole class. It got a positive reaction."
The poem spread to other teachers, and other classes.
"It was a bit embarrassing at first because I wasn't proud of any of the poems in the collection," Drachenberg said.
But the poem was selected for publication in an anthology of youth poetry. Drachenberg was invited to present the poem to city council earlier this year and was praised for her efforts.
The pronoun change is significant because Drachenberg is a transgender teen identifying as a girl at the time and writing under the name Kiyanna. He now identifies as a boy, and has changed his name to Kieran.
As a girl, Kiyanna won a Northern Public Affairs Emerging Northern Writers and Artists Fund prize, and wrote for the magazine about mental health and youth issues, including struggles with sexuality. His mother, Catherine Lightfoot, said writing has helped her son manage the transition.
"The writing is how he's been expressing himself," Lightfoot said, noting the benefit of "sharing that and hoping it will help someone else be who they are and to learn from it."
Drachenberg said everyone has been surprisingly supportive of his transition.
"I expected a lot more backlash from the school or at least some students," he said. "It's actually been mindblowing because I've been waiting the past few weeks for the other shoe to drop because it's been going so well. The teachers have been so accepting and everyone made the immediate switch (in name and gender)."
Positive change
Many have noticed a positive change in Drachenberg's presence and confidence.
"I've had a lot of people comment on that," he said, noting they say, "I just seem a lot more confident and happy lately."
One of the supports Drachenberg has used to cope in his identity transition is the Kids' Help Phone, which he recommends to any child or teen needing help. Over the last two years, he was the only person in Iqaluit taking part in a five-kilometre walk to raise money for the service.
Drachenberg's writing career continues, as he is a monthly blogger for the Arctic Children & Youth Foundation, advocating for help and understanding for youth coping with mental health issues.
His next blog post is expected to address his gender transition.
