I was 17 when I realised I was non-binary. I couldn’t see anyone like me in my school at that point, and the idea of telling people filled me with anxiety, so I decided it was safer to not come out.

When I was in my last year of school, some pupils got together and set up a LGBTQIA+ club. They put up some flags in the hallways, but after feeling so alone and shy for five years, I couldn’t bring myself to join or tell anyone outside of my closest friends who I really was.

But things could have been different. Now, I’m 19 and volunteer for Just Like Us, a charity which helps LGBTQIA+ young people like me to tell our stories in schools, and become the representation we never had.

I wish that Just Like Us had been around when I was at school. If someone had told me it would all be OK and that I wasn’t alone, it would have changed so much for my younger self. Having a safe space to be myself, and seeing people like me in real life instead of in a book or on a screen, would have meant a lot.

While I am a lot happier now, my negative experiences at school have significantly affected my mental health, and an inclusive environment at school could have made all the difference. I wish this had been the case for me, but schools implementing LGBTQIA+ inclusive education in Scotland and across the UK give me hope. I don’t ever want anyone to have to go through what I went through, because all young people deserve to grow up feeling free to be themselves.

Just Like Us needs your help to ensure no young person grows up wishing they had been supported at school – donate now.