College is a time of transition for most young adults. Nothing could ring truer for the subjects of the documentary “TransGeneration,” a year-in-the-life look at four college students – Gabbie, Lucas, Raci and T.J. – who are juggling the challenges of academia with their commitment to transition from their birth sex.

Superbly crafted, “TransGeneration” gives its audience an intimate look at the issues facing transgender people, particularly young adults. Bouncing back and forth from campus to campus, nothing is left to the imagination as all four open up about society, family, sexual reassignment surgery and whether or not to take hormone therapy. By the end of the series, the audience has shared perhaps the most personal moments of these peoples’ lives – whether that is Gabbie’s long-anticipated surgery, Lucas’s first injection of testosterone, Raci’s decision to tell her classmate she is transgender or T.J.’s trip home to Cypress where he confronts his mother once and for all about his decision to live life as a man.

When we last left T.J., a female-to-male transgender, he was headed home to Cypress for a visit as “Tamara,” out of respect for his family. He had also broken up with his girlfriend, Staci, and was still contemplating whether or not he would begin his transition by taking testosterone. The Gay & Lesbian Times caught up with T.J. to find out what’s been happening since the conclusion of the series and his thoughts about “TransGeneration” as a whole.

Gay & Lesbian Times: The final episode was a cliffhanger. You were headed home as Tamara, the relationship ended with Staci, and you still were unsure about when you would transition. Let’s start with what you’ve been doing since the conclusion of the documentary. Did you start your transition?

T.J.: I have definitely gone back and forth since the documentary. A lot of trans guys will talk about that breaking point where they want to really start, and I’ve reached that this year. Unfortunately, I can’t address it in an effective way. … I did go back and forth about whether I wanted to transition before going home, and I’ve finally decided that it’s not going to be in my best interests to do that. So I am going to wait until I am able to come back to [the U.S.] and transition in a more stable way.

GLT: What happened with Staci?

T.J.: Staci and I broke up in August. We’ve actually had an on-and-off-again relationship since then. As of April 8, we are engaged.

GLT: Congratulations! What is your relationship like now with your mother? Does she know about the engagement?

T.J.: On a very private, personal level, I think my mom understands now that this is who I am and it’s not going to change, and she is learning to deal with it. At the same time, because of a lot of publicity around the show, there has been added discomfort with people in the community finding out. In terms of Staci, my mom has never met Staci. She doesn’t really have an interest in knowing about my relationships with women. Over the phone it’s a difficult conversation to have. In terms of my engagement with Staci, I plan on talking to my mother about that once I am home, so I can talk to her face to face. Maybe once Staci has the chance to come visit, to get to know her, [my mom] will learn to love her just as much as I do.

GLT: Has your mom seen the documentary?

T.J.: I definitely don’t think she has seen it. To be honest, I never have had the courage to ask her if she wants to see it, because I am kind of afraid of the answer – either yes or no. I am kind of afraid of what that would mean. If she ever does demonstrate interest in watching, it will be interesting to watch it with her and see how she takes it all.

GLT: Let’s go back to the beginning. Why did you decide to participate in the documentary, and how were you selected?

T.J.: I came upon it at a time when I was dealing with a lot of personal issues in terms of relationships and pieces like that. And I saw it as a good opportunity for me to do a lot of inner work and inner reflection. I didn’t necessary expect it to have the kind of reception and attention that it has had.

I was able to find out about it through an e-mail that World of Wonder had sent out to a lot of trans listserves looking for potential participants, and thought that the way they presented the story was very respectful. They really talked about wanting to pull from a diverse group of people and represent the story as individual stories and not as representative of the community, which were both very important pieces for me.

GLT: How often was the crew with you on campus?

T.J.: Actually, it wasn’t as often as people think. I think that folks have the perception that it was a reality-type show, where cameras were all around us at all times. They weren’t really around as much as people would think. … It was more like a couple of days of the week or a few weekends here and a few weekends there. Mostly, it depended on what was going on in our lives; making sure that they had all aspects covered.

GLT: How did the presence of the crew affect your campus environment? How were you received by the student body?

T.J.: Interestingly enough, and I am still kind of puzzled about this, no one really approached me to ask me about what the cameras were about. We see Raci in the documentary being asked about it, but I never got that. In terms of people who already knew me, I had told them about it. I wanted to make sure that anyone that was going to be around me was comfortable with a camera, especially since I interact with so many LGBT students.

GLT: What do you think of the way you were represented in the documentary? Was it a true representation?

T.J.: I think that “TransGeneration” represented us with honesty and integrity, and I didn’t feel like any bit of it came across like a reality show. I think that was one of my fears going into the project, having seen other documentaries on trans individuals being so sensationalized and so transition focused. But I really felt like, in terms of painting the pictures of the four of us, that they did a really good [job], doing it holistically and not making us up to be these one-dimensional people.

GLT: What did you think of Gabbie, Lucas and Raci’s stories?

T.J.: I loved their stories. All three of their stories were so different than mine. And I really enjoyed that, but at the same time there were these overlapping pieces. Like Lucas and I sharing that letter-writing piece. It was very emotional to watch.

GLT: When you guys met – I am assuming you met – what was that like? How did your different experiences compare?

T.J.: The four of us actually met in San Francisco at the end of June last year when the festival version premiered at Frameline. And it was fantastic. It’s San Francisco and it’s Castro Street and the Frameline Film Festival. It was an amazing experience to meet in that environment and get to know each other. Definitely, right off the bat there was a connection because of a shared experienced.

GLT: Would you do it all over again, given the chance?

T.J.: I think I had a very good experience with it. I am still feeling the experience from it and gaining a lot from it. So definitely I would do it again if I had the opportunity… for sure!

“TransGeneration” is now available on DVD. Visit www.sundancechannelstore.com for details.