Photo by: Gracie Watt/ Caption: Cameron reveals the key to self-discovery by saying, “I think everyone can figure out a lot about themselves when they’re out of their comfort zone.”
In 2015, Cameron Kerr found themself working in a coffeeshop in downtown Boston. About a year later, they could be found working in a vegan diner in their hometown, Fort Worth, Texas. Now, they spend most days writing and drawing in Jos coffeeshop on the campus of St. Edward’s in Austin, Tx. The 2,000 mile journey between these coffeeshops was one of ups and downs and self-discovery for Cameron. This is their story.
Cameron explained the culture shock of moving from Fort Worth to Boston at 18, and how it impacted their struggle with mental health. “I always knew I had seasonal depression, but you don’t realize how bad it is until it’s dark and cold all the time,” Kerr said.
Kerr was diagnosed with bipolar and seasonal depression shortly before their move to Boston, which they described as being a point of concern for their parents. Kerr was only 18 when they packed up their stuff and made the leap of faith of moving up North, along with a friend they had convinced to move there too.
Since they felt the need to occupy time and pursue an education in Boston, Kerr took a step forward and applied to Emerson. “I wanted Emerson to be a perfect fit and to override how miserable I was, which was naive.”
It was at Emerson that Kerr began to question their identity and pronouns. “We were having a meeting and they told us to say our name and pronouns and I said ‘I use they/them pronouns’ and from that point on it just worked, and I felt it more. I realized it was legit.”
“My parents came to visit one weekend and we were at a pizza place and they asked me how I was. I just started crying. It hadn’t even hit me yet how unhappy I was until then. I told them I needed to come back home for a while and get my head straight,” Kerr says of the moment they realized they needed to move back to Fort Worth.
Former roommate, Izzi Payne, took notice of a change in Cameron once they came back to Fort Worth. “Every day I saw them trying to piece together their brain and personality cause I think going to Boston and coming back kinda disassembled that for them.”
So, Kerr found a job at Spiral diner in Fort Worth, Texas. “I kinda went in knowing I would have to teach people and correct people and exert a lot of energy towards showing up for myself. I just had to be patient with people from ‘cowtown’ who had never met someone like me.” Kerr explains how after they began working at Spiral diner it became a very queer-friendly establishment.
Former partner, Noah Stephenson, explains how he saw Cameron’s growth while they worked at Spiral diner. “They became more comfortable in themselves and their identity, and unapologetically began to figure out who they were and how they were going to occupy space in the world.”
Han Frazier, a former roommate of Kerr’s also noticed a change in them once they came back from Boston. “They got so much better about listening and taking other peoples’ feelings into consideration. Also, they became a lot more independent.”
Kerr explains that they applied to St. Edward’s in Austin on a whim, although they had always liked the location. “Austin is like the cool parts of Fortworth but bigger. It seemed like a good midpoint between a smaller town and something bigger like Boston.”
Today, Kerr is in a much more comfortable place. “I’m doing better now than I was then just from maturity.” They explain that through all of those jobs and experiences, they grew up and discovered a lot about themselves in the process.
Kerr is no stranger to change, and is currently trying to live by the motto “just be open minded and the rest will come.”