Almost five years ago, I had a revelation: I was not a man. I might have been a boy at one time, but I was not a man. This was the beginning of a journey that's brought me a huge amount of personal growth, self-realization, and joy - but also a lot of hard work and hurdles that I need to clear.

Earlier this year, in March, I had a surgical consultation about one of those hurdles: My face. I haven't liked who I saw in the mirror for a long time, and it's a rare occasion when I can take a selfie or be in a photo and not cringe at the result. Even though this might be an oversensitivity to my own face caused by dysphoria, the truth is that my physical face doesn't match my own self-image, and that causes the disconnect.

A week ago, I received a call I had been waiting on, to schedule a date for my facial feminization surgery. Said date? January 3rd.

Of course, I said yes, that's fine. But there's a wrinkle - not everything my surgeon and I discussed is covered by my insurance. One procedure among the collection of them planned to take place has to be paid for completely out of pocket.

This $2700 is wholly going to be used to pay for submental liposuction - aka double chin liposuction - which will remove excess fat from below my jawline/chin and neck area. This is a common part of FFS, and it's one I very much want to have happen.

Any excess will go toward expenses for post-surgical care.