For the longest time, I had come to accept the way things were in terms of my body, but over these recent years, the woman in me has been slowly coming to shore. With transitioning medically, I hope to see myself reflected in your eyes exactly the way I have always seen myself. To let the girl in me release her shell and come into the sun to paint, play, and grow into the woman she was always meant to be.

I am often reminded of this vivid memory I have of myself around ten years old, singing and twirling around after a group of women performing in a theme park parade. My dad had videotaped this moment, and I remember whenever I saw the tapes, my heart would plunge into a deep dive of shame and fear.

Or memories of the vile moments of puberty, where the voice dropped so low it left me in deep grief, not knowing what was happening or if I would be able to sing like I used to again. I love to sing.

In the past few years, I have been so grateful to be able to let go of these fears. Majorly thanks to the people around me who held me down and showed me the possibilities of life with space to express myself fully, abundantly, in every aspect of my being.

Over the past few weeks, taking voice therapy has already shown me ways to relieve dysphoria and make changes I didn’t fathom possible before.

I arrive at this moment now, where I, Dinis, a 37-year-old trans woman from Rotterdam, come to humbly ask you to join me in this journey. Because believe me when I say that your help would be appreciated in a way I could only hope to express through art in the future.

All of the donations will go directly to my gender affirming care. Seeing as trans healthcare is costly, especially for surgeries that entail facial feminisation, which I deeply yearn for. I have carefully set this goal as an estimate to cover these costs.

Bills towards my dysphoria ‘diagnosis’ are already stacking, as Psytrans has helped accelerate the process before the everlasting waitlist at the VUmc Amsterdam ever would. To be able to gain the financial means through mutual aid is beyond my wildest expectations, and your support would greatly help not only financially, but also mentally, as a final push to set up surgery dates I never thought I could before.

During and after this long swim through translific oceans, I look forward to enriching your lives with the most colorful and fulfilling art forever more <3

Please share far and wide with your friends, family, and people with means to help financially. The smallest amounts will be greatly appreciated. Even a share would mean so so much.

Love from this tgirl’s little heart,

Dinis