"Achieving a goal isn't easy unless you set your mind to it; it's a matter of attitude and determination. Acheive one goal, and more will follow."

Here's my place on the whole of this website to give a little bit about me, what I do and where I'm going in life..!! Well, apart from producing a subtle smile in my resemblence of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, it would be wise for me to start by saying that I'm not perfect by any means, or any better than anyone else as I firmly beleive we all have qualities to value, and in that respect, we're all equal partners in this world.

Like many others before me, I trudged the treadmill to make the change as I knew it would lead to a better future, and I played my small part in fighting the system to right the wrongs and make things better; there's always something new that needs tackling. Some make their fame in films and music, I actively campaigned for trans rights for a little while and worked on public projects to raise awareness and profiles.

I got my zest from my earlier work when I worked for a while with the Fieldfare Trust based in Sheffield; Fieldfare manage the national flagship projects BT Countryside for All and Kielder Challenge. Both were fantastic opportunities working with disabled people in a country setting where I got my first taste in project management and in publicity; it was also the spot where I discovered how one can use the 'media machine' to full advantage to benefit disadvantaged people in a positive way.

I later left Fieldfare to make way for my change to womanhood and took up ownership and Editorial fof the former Sheffield Pink; this later became the Gay-zette N and was targetted around Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and some of the smaller towns in between. I had a great time of my life getting involved in the gay scene and meeting lots of people - I guess I got a kick out of being famous though it did have it's drawbacks when readers stopped me as I was pushing to buy a beer in the busy bars.

My earlier work led me to my campaign work with Press for Change where I became an active campaigner in trans rights - well, what do you expect if the authorities tell you to wait 15 years to surgery - you fight back..! I think the fact I did so much in my earlier life that the taste for a good rattle never got lost. I then had my surgery on 31st October 2000 and the article in the Pink Paper really helps to commorate the culmination of my work to that date. The article itself gives a clue as to what I want to acheive next, but given the nerve damage in one of my legs, my goal to climb Everest could be kinda difficult, but who knows? The photo above is what was used to splatter around the pages of the Pink.

Moving on, Transsexual UK was a further seed that developed which frankly turned out into a really decent support group. It was a very much needed refreshing change to enable trans people have a safe environment to get the support and friendship they needed. I've left that behind now and the working group that's been left in place to look after 'my little baby' are doing a fantastic job, so many thanks to them.

I think I've acheived a lot in a personal sense, though I I can see now that there is so much more for me to aim for, to acheive and leave behind. At the time of writing this, I have graduated from university with a degree and have started in my first Social Work practice though despite this I feel it's not enough. There is still one life long goal I want to achieve, to climb Everest.

You may laugh, and I may never reach the summit, but I will damn well try and I shall damn well get to base camp, and that's good enough - reaching the summit would be another goal acheive, and would be the cream on the cake. I'm giving myself 6 years to get there, so we'll see how things pan out.

Caio for now

Krystyna

Krystyna Haywood
Founder & Project Manager
Transsexual UK