Names, Identity & High School Stories (with Rian DeVeer) ⭐

In this episode of License & Unsupervised, we welcome back our “supervisor,” Rian DeVeer, for a conversation about identity, high school experiences, and how we all became who we are today.

We talk about growing up in different decades — the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s — and how those environments shaped us.

Rian shares his experience as a trans man, including how he chose his name and what that journey has looked like over time. We also talk about something surprisingly universal — how often people get our names wrong, and how names can carry identity, meaning, and history.

We also discuss:

• High school experiences across generations
• Bullying and fitting in
• Fashion and self-expression as teenagers
• Private school vs public school experiences
• Teen pregnancy and life paths
• How different high school feels today compared to when we grew up
• Why identity evolves — and how we learn to own it

This episode is reflective, honest, and about understanding people beyond first impressions.

Licensed? Yes. Still becoming? Always.