Dylan Marron

After writing her memoir about coming of age as a black trans woman in Redefining Realness, Janet Mock spoke at colleges around the country, where she said she received a common question: How can I fully be myself in the “real” world? And so the seeds were planted for Mock’s follow-up book Surpassing Certainty, an open road map through the highs and lows of her twenties that ultimately lead her to where she is today. Before Mock speaks at live performance venue the Greene Space on June 26, writer and video maker Dylan Marron caught up with the activist about her new LGBT book, her love of Destiny’s Child and more. Dylan Marron: Your new book Surpassing Certainty is something like a love letter to your twenties. What do you wish you had known then that you know now?Janet Mock: Oh, God! That’s like the whole book! Just one thing. It’s so easy![Laughs] I wish I would have known that I could take my time. So much of my younger years I felt such a sense of urgency to accomplish and achieve that I wasn’t really present enough to just enjoy the process of being young, of learning, of being in school, of hanging out with my peers, and having leisurely time before these obligations come into your life. So I wish I would have said “girl, slow down, just take your time.” Today’s younger generation can get a bad rap sometimes. Is there something you think the younger generation is doing right?Oh my god! I spend so much of my time— whether that’s in online conversations with younger peopl