He just couldn't imagine himself living as a man. Sooner or later this "conundrum" as one internet source described it, was going to get the better of him. He shuddered to think about what that would mean. No one knew what death was but was it really preferable to living this way?
Being stuck in the wrong body was no way for him to spend the rest of his life, but on the other hand, he hadn't been able to find many options, however he knew he had to keep trying or he was going to go crazy.
Three months from graduation, he joined the Air Force. Maybe that would make a man out of him. That's what everyone said the military does. When he told his mom, she bit her lip not wanting to face the prospect of losing him, like his father, in a war, but nevertheless she accepted his decision.