The Candid Thoughts of Jana
This week marks a giant milestone in my transition and in my life. On Wednesday, I went to the courthouse and stood before a judge who signed my order to finalize my legal name change. I am now officially and legally Jana Beth Hart! To my complete surprise the judge also asked if I wanted…
At what point do I give up? Is it when the state I live in outlaws body autonomy for women? Is it when the country I live in values religious freedom over my rights to exist and be treated equally? Is it when I can no longer advance in my career because now I’m not…
Something profound happened to me this past weekend. For most people this is usually a common experience earlier in life. At least, I hope it is. For me, this is still fresh in my mind, newly minted, and life-changing. For most of my life, I have not had anyone to date. As a male, I…
Yesterday I filed the paperwork for my legal name change. It was the beginning of the final step of my transition. It was also the most nerve wracking day I’ve had since I came out to my friends the first time. Had my best friend not been there as a bedrock of calmness, I don’t…
I have reached the point in my career where I want to move into a pure management position. That’s not to say I don’t want to write code anymore, or won’t, but that I want my daily activity now to be managing a development team. Part of the reason is that I have simply lost…
Recently, I’ve had to re-enter the job market. This is normally a process I go through every year or so. It’s just the nature of the tech industry in Atlanta–you don’t get a promotion or a raise unless you move to another company that offers you both. This time, however, my move was involuntary. I…
Sometimes I wrote a poem that was clearly not meant for me at the time–it was meant for me now. I supposed, at the time it was written, that it was wishful thinking instead of prophetic, but I’ll probably never really know. This poem is about stepping out from the ruins of my wall and…
I love books. I have loved them since I was a child. They have taken me to the most wonderful lands and introduced me to the most amazing and diverse people–lands and people far more interesting and deep than those I knew in real life. After all these years, I am now even writing my…
What is it about being transgender that scares people so much? There are so many groups out there that hate and fear our very existence, as if we upset some cosmic balance and the universe will implode if we continue to exist. Most of the arguments against us follow along the same lines as historical…
To ring in the new year, I thought I’d tell you more about my core value and philosophy. They are really quite simple when boiled down: Fairness and Happiness. Of course, those two words mask a lot of meaning, so let me break down what they mean to me. Fairness This is my version of…