THIS POST MAY CONTAIN HOPE.

I asked trans people online how they maintain hope and their answers were inspiring ...

Author

Sandy Allen
April 05, 2026

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth — written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hey all,

Sometimes on a lark, I’ll ask some question aloud on Bluesky and people will respond. The other day I had wondered:

Sandy Ernest Allen @sandyernestallen.bksy.social Trans people, i have a question if anyone wants to answer. What’s keeping your hope alive, lately? Share anything positive, I’d like to hear

I wanted to share some of the replies I got …

Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com 26 m every trans kid i meet, unabashedly far beyond anything resembling shame for their identity, well aware that the adults legislating on them and everything else don’t define their lives :heart emoji”
Slava Greenberg @slavagreenberg.sky.soc 1h trans people creating art, writing enjoying sports, gardening, caring for each other. We’ll get through this together. We got each other.
New Flesh @esedia.bsky.social 1 h It’s a very personal positive but for me an important one: being able to get top surgery this month.
Emily AF @rockstarelise.com 1 hr I was 44 when I started HRT and became alive for the first time. That was a little over four years ago, and I will take as much of this life as I can have. Having spent so many decades in gray despair, I refuse to give up now.
Ilana Masad @ilanaslightly.bsky.social 1h Nonbinary trans person here - what’s keeping me hopeful is a) all the amazing literature trans people keep writing and b) knowing that the current regime will not last forever thought hat’s hard to remember many days
Today as trans person @the-daily-trans.bsky.social 1 hr Being present in my friendships and having a good laugh. Making sure that everyone in my life knows that I love them and care about them deeply. Spending time outside gardening. Sitting on the floor with my cats. Random phone calls with far away friends. Cooking amazing food for dinner parties.
Laurel Powell @laurelpowell 30 m the chance that we are living at the beginning of something better rather than the end of all things
Zannah @alopexstudios.bsky.social 5d Community is a big part of what keeps me going. I work with a bunch of younger queer and trans folks, love what I do, and it gives me a place to focus my energy and people i can help and connect with. I also try to make sure I take time to work on my miniature builds. Hobbies are important (with several photos of miniatures)
Blue (he/him) @eternaltrophyboy.sky.social 5d This next generation of activists has been giving ,e so much hope. They have been paying attention. also, when I chat with some gen z co workers they have had zero issues with trans stuff. They just get it. Alsoalso im adopting a cat this saturday and theyre gonna be my fluffy ball of hope too.

I encourage you to read all the responses, if you like, and to share the thread (or respond!).

Truth is: I struggle with hopelessness, the drift down into that muck. I think for me why I ask others such questions is I’m often trying to remember, myself, why I fight on. Because life can feel so hard, day to day… especially during this period of loss and grief.

I wanted to share this meditation, on this theme, which like many of hers I found helpful and would highly recommend …

Access Your Inner Source Of Hope - 11 Minute Daily Insight | Insight Timer

This practice focuses on accessing your inner sense of hope and optimism. It can be useful when you are stuck in a muddy place of fear or insecurity. It will invite the healing powers of your heart.

Insight Network, Inc.

What’s Helping Today: THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. is a new album by RAYE, an artist I admit I wasn’t familiar with. It’s fantastic. Have had it on sorta nonstop.

Great analysis:

RAYE’s maximalist masterpiece is the hope we need — Switched On Pop

For RAYE, hope is something you have to build, genre by genre, track by track

Switched On Pop

Finally wanted to share: My latest Catskill Crew column came out on Tuesday, it’s on sowing peas and also planning a garden …

CATSKILL CASINO

Get cozy with the latest Catskill Crew: Early spring migrants filling the forests, pea-planting tips, a big April Fools casino "reveal," youth sports sponsorship, and can't-miss events from fly fishing openers to Adult Rock Camp. Your weekly guide to Catskills and Hudson Valley.

Catskill Crew • Michael Kauffman

Here again was my post reflecting about our hope-inducing seed swap …

Time in the Ashes

And sharing about an event that lifted my spirits ...

What's Helping Today • Sandy Allen

Sending love,
Sandy

p.s. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter, please consider sharing it wherever you share things or with a friend or two who may enjoy my work.

p.p.s. This week, for Trans Day of Visibility, I started writing a post about my ambivalence about being trans and “visible,” but I was giving a corporate-type speech that day, on similar themes in part. It went really well, I’m pleased to say — and it exhausted me. Here, from last year, was my post on this same topic …

Trans Day Of...

keeping it positive and brief

What's Helping Today • Sandy Allen

p.p.s. Learn more about hiring me to speak here.

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today, a newsletter by me — author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen. If you were forwarded this message, What’s Helping Today is totally free; you can subscribe here. If you like my work and want it to keep going: Please consider supporting me via my Buy Me a Coffee. My suggested amount for those who can is $5 a month or more. Your contributions are greatly appreciated!