September 28, 2018. It was a gray, cool morning. The gym was filled with Rocky students and the crowd was buzzing for the annual homecoming assembly. The homecoming nominees were lined up, anticipating the moment they would run out to their class. Homecoming court is a tradition often turning into a popularity contest, but this year was different for one nominee. To CJ Hendrie, winning homecoming king meant so much more than a crown.

CJ Hendrie is a transgender senior here at Rocky. He enjoys poetry, art, spending time with friends, and trying to achieve equality. When CJ got the note announcing that he had been nominated for homecoming king, it was quite unexpected. “I was extremely shocked,” he said “My first instinct was that it was a joke.” He explained that at any other school it would have felt like a joke, but Rocky was different. “It was crazy. It didn’t really sink in till the assembly.”

The whole school was ecstatic about CJ being nominated. Everyone interviewed was overjoyed that he was on homecoming court, saying things about how he deserved it and about how kindhearted of a person he is. It was something that meant a lot to anyone who knew him.

As the students sat and watched the senior homecoming court run out,CJ was wearing the transgender flag as a cape. There were whispers about how amazing it was that he was representing the transgender community. CJ said he wore it to the assembly because, “I wanted people who knew me or didn’t know me to know what I was representing. I kept imagining what freshman me would have thought,” he said. “If I was a freshman and saw that, it would have been amazing. There’s no representation of the transgender community in the media and in life so I wanted to talk about it.”

As the time slowly passed, the crowd anxiously anticipated the winners of homecoming prince, princess, king, and queen. They announced the freshman winners, then sophomore, then juniors, and finally seniors. Seniors were on  the edge of their seats as they announced the winners. The crowd stomped their feet to create a drumroll as they opened the envelope to reveal CJ Hendrie was homecoming king! The crowd went absolutely wild. This win felt different then the ones before. This win was not a popularity contest. This one was representation, something much more pure than the years before.

“It felt absolutely surreal,” CJ stated. “It was always something I wanted. Not me winning, but a transgender person winning. The fact that it happened to me, that I was the transgender person, is crazy. I felt grateful I go to this school.”

The energy in that room after CJ was crowned homecoming king was powerful. Everyone was running up him to congratulate him. It was win that meant more to just him. His comments about  all the support and congratulations he was receiving were, “I couldn’t believe it. I felt more supported than I felt in my entire life. I felt like a freshman, like a kid that was finally being accepted. The biggest thing was the trans people, or people who knew trans people who came up to me and thanked me for being a voice for them. They’ll stop me in the halls and thank me,” he explained.

This wasn’t just a win — something that people will brush off in a couple of weeks or  just another name that won the annual popularity contest. This was change, a voice for the voiceless, a step forward for Rocky. CJ Hendrie was that change. This was a win for the transgender community and representation for them. It was special. “It gave me a taste of what I want to do with the rest of my life,” he smiled. “To represent, because nothing meant more to me then the kids that came up and thanked me. I want to show you can be trans and happy. It doesn’t have to be miserable.” This victory was about more than a crown.