Tom Daniels, 52, has struggled with gender identity since elementary school.

Daniels tried hard to suppress those feelings “for more than 40 years,” but never felt completely happy or at peace, according to a letter to the school community in Swampscott, Massachusetts (a coastal town located about 13 miles northeast of Boston). The prospect of coming out was “terrifying” to Daniels, The Boston Globe reported.

“That has changed,” Daniels, an elementary school principal, wrote. Tom Daniels announced to the community Tuesday that he is transgender and will start identifying as female and using her middle name, Shannon, as her first name, Daniels said.

Daniels says Shannon is an Irish name that means “wise river” and is used by both males and females, “perfectly denoting my fluid gender identity.”

Daniels says that she will accept “she, he,” and “they” as pronouns but respectfully asks that she be called by her professional title: “Principal Daniels.”

The Stanley Elementary School principal told The Gloucester Times that she woke up one morning and asked herself: “who am I and what do I want?”

“I said, internally I’m a female and I want to be one,” Daniels told the paper. “It gave me this incredible peace and happiness. It was just right.”

She said in the letter that while her decision is very personal, she recognizes the role she plays in the public community. She “knows there will be questions” and vowed to do everything in her power to ensure there’s no negative impact on the school community.

Daniels told the newspaper that her inbox filled with supportive messages shortly after the announcement.

Superintendent Pamela Angelakis said in a separate letter to the school community that she admires the “courage, honesty and transparency that comes through” in Daniels’ letter.

Angelakis said the district will be providing educational opportunities on the topic in the near future.