MY STORY
Hi there! I’m Jaime Thornley, the proud founder of Queer Authentic Life Coaching.
So, why did I start a life coaching business? It’s actually very simple and I can easily explain it through a little bit of my own story.
MY JOURNEY TO ACCEPTANCE
I currently identify as a queer, transman. However, my identity has changed over time as I have taken the time to explore my identity and find out who I am on the inside and outside. Part of this journey for me has included identifying as a lesbian and as a non-binary individual before I truly came to the realization that I am a transman.
Finding your identity, accepting it, and learning how to embrace it can be extremely confusing and challenging. I was met by so many professionals and people in life that have told me it was a phase or that it’s not natural. I went for a long time feeling a lot of shame about who I am. Now, after working hard on myself and adjusting my mindset, I can honestly say, I am NOT ashamed of who I am.
MY CHILDHOOD.
I grew up a southern, Catholic, sit-in-a-corner-and-don’t-speak-unless-you’re–asked-to type of girl. I had a lot of labels that changed growing up and the first really important to this story was the label of “tomboy”. Yes, I know lots of girls are tomboys or go through those moments where they don’t like dresses and really like mud, and that’s totally normal. With me, though, it was a little different: I really wanted to be a boy. Like deep down in my soul, I knew that I was a boy. I remember I would steal my older brother’s boxers and wear them to sleep because that made me feel happy and comfortable in my body.
I was told though that my feelings of being in a body that wasn’t mine were bad and wrong; I was told to push them as far away as possible, so I did.
LIVING IN-THE-CLOSET.
I spent a good portion of my life in the closet and trying my hardest to be the perfect female. This got to the point, though, where I was miserable and hated myself, but I didn’t fully understand why or what it meant. It wasn’t until I left home and got to experience the LGBTQIA+ community that I finally started to understand what it was that I had been feeling for so many years.
So, this brings us back to the original question of why do I have a life coaching business?
BEING PART OF THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY IS HARD.
I can explain it in 4 very easy words. BEING TRANS IS HARD. Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community is hard. There’s no simpler way to phrase it.
For my LGBTQIA+ fam, there’s no guidebook on how to come out, or how to finally accept and love yourself. The same goes for my trans fam–there’s no manual for how to transition or what a trans person looks like. I learned that the hard way throughout life and I struggled to figure out the answer to those questions and to find myself along the way.
NO SUPPORT WHEN I NEEDED IT.
No one should have to go through that journey alone because they simply don’t have the support that they need or because they simply haven’t found that support yet. I wasn’t able to find that support, from a professional lens, when I really needed it. This left me feeling overwhelmed and lost for many years. Now, I have decided to become what I couldn’t find for myself and to be there to help others through the process of becoming their authentic self.
“I WANT TO BE THE SUPPORT FOR OTHERS THAT I NEVER HAD”.
JAIME THORNLEY
FOUNDER, QUEER AUTHENTIC LIFE COACHING
LET’S CONNECT.
If any of my journey resonates with you or if you need support with becoming your authentic self, let’s connect and get you started on your journey!