In celebration of Trans Visibility Day, we’re proud to spotlight this heartfelt story by Caley Gail Bajo, Hotel Assistant on Ventura.
“My journey still unfolding. And for the first time, I’m not afraid of where it might take me.
I used to measure my life in quiet compromises – how I spoke, how I walked, how much of myself I concealed just to keep others comfortable. Eventually, I began researching safe transitioning through Hormone Replacement Therapy. I took pills, injections – each step an attempt to shape myself into someone I could truly recognize and love. What I didn’t yet understand was that this wasn’t a temporary transformation, but a lifelong commitment to becoming and sustaining who I am.
The first time I said my name out loud – the real one – it felt fragile, like it might break if anyone challenged it. I remember standing in front of the mirror, hands shaking, repeating it again and again until it started to sound like mine. Transitioning didn’t happen all at once. It was a series of crossings – appointments, conversations, small victories that felt enormous. The first time someone used the right pronouns without hesitation, I carried that moment with me for days.
There were losses, too – people who couldn’t follow me to the other side. I never wanted to impose my beliefs on anyone; for me, it was simply a matter of co‑existing without harming or diminishing others. Still, there were days when I questioned whether becoming myself was worth everything it seemed to cost. But even then, something inside me refused to turn back.
The sea came into my life almost by accident. I took the job because I needed stability, something solid to hold onto while everything else was changing. I didn’t expect it to become the place where I would finally feel steady and welcomed.
My first time onboard, I was hyper-aware of everything, my voice, my body, how people looked at me. I braced myself for judgment before it even came. And sometimes it did. There were awkward pauses when I introduced myself, questions that felt too personal and moments where I could tell someone was trying to figure me out instead of just seeing me.
But there were also people who surprised me. Friends who embraced me and respected me for who I am, people who didn’t ask anything at all, they just worked with me, trusted me and relied on me. I remember Mr. Carl from Learning and Development making sure my name badge reflected the name I wanted to be called by. It was amazing to see how people had my back and supported me. They never saw me as different at all. Onboard it doesn’t matter who you used to be, it matters whether you can do your job, whether you show up, whether you have each other’s backs.
I learned the rhythm of the ship I found confidence not just in who I am, but in what I can do. Transitioning taught me how to claim my life I wanted. The ocean taught me how to live it.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped feeling like I was just trying to survive. Now, I’m living.”
Thank you for courageously sharing your journey with us. If you have some news for us, get in touch by submitting your story, here.