TOLEDO, Ohio — "I'm one of the few who had it lucky," London Neal said. "I never had a coming out story. Everybody knew, 'Hey, this is what it is,'" London Neal said.
Neal credits the strong women in her life for finding acceptance and love in her identity at a young age.
Now, she's a mother and performer, as well as a mentor to many other transgender women in the Toledo community.
"Trans is more than a look, it's inside," Neal said. "It's more than what's outside, it's inside and I just tell them, 'Be you, just go out, buy you new hair, new lipstick.'"
Nikki Orlowski is just one of many local transgender women who look up to London.
Orlowski came out in her late 20s, so the journey has been very different.
"It feels so nice; it's like the biggest sigh of relief," she said. "Like I said I finally know what it means to be happy."
Orlowski's lifelong passion has been art, so we met at her studio in the Collingwood area. She also grew up in Toledo and says while she's the happiest she's ever been, it hasn't not been an easy road.
"People on the streets will sometimes block their children from viewing me and that type of thing, so it's kind of heartbreaking," Orlowski said. "But at the same time, I'm so much happier now."
So they love finding those moments of acceptance in their community.
"It's the joy of being seen, being visible, being able to be in the community and not get chased down the street," Neal said.
"Some people are different than you and that's okay," Orlowski said.
Nikki and London are just two examples of what someone's journey as a transgender person can look like.
London says it's really just been in the last three years where she has started to feel safe in her own community.
Both acknowledge there's still a lot that needs to be improved.