I’m writing this to tell you about my incredible best friend. Their name- chosen by themself, of course- is Cheese. Their joke nickname for me is Egg, so we match.

They turned 19 years old in January of 2021, which is mind blowing in how quickly time flies. We first met through mutual friends in 2016, when they were 15 years old and I was 11. Our favorite anecdote is that the first thing they ever said to me was “I hate you already.” Fast forward two weeks from that statement, and we were best friends.

We poked fun at each other, like kids do, but we also confided in each other and became very close, also like kids do. We were both young transgender people, struggling with dysphoria and the inability to fully transition yet. We were both on the spectrum, and though neither of us knew that yet, it was incredible to meet someone else who could fully relate to you and understand the way your brain worked. We’re both creative people, and I shared my drawings with them while they shared their writing with me, and we still work off each other’s art wonderfully. We had so much more in common than we originally could have thought, and quickly realized we were meant to be friends.

They adopted me as their honorary younger sibling, and we’ve been family ever since. We talk all the time, about anything and everything. Cheese has always looked out for me and taken care of me, from telling me jokes and streaming movies with me when I’m sad, to giving me very real life advice, to trusting me with their own story.

I want to keep some of their privacy, but in short, Cheese has an awful, transphobic and unsupportive family. As soon as they were able to, they moved out and got a full time job in manufacturing, which they still work, not to mention a part time job on the side.

I’m ecstatic that they’re away from their biological parents now, and I can confidently say that they are the most hardworking person I’ve met in my entire life. Even so, they live in California, and the cost of living is expensive. They’re just one person, and despite how much they work, it’s difficult to make ends meet with such high rent.

I’m now 15, the age Cheese was when we first met, and I want to repay some of the incredible help they’ve given me over the years. I love them, and I’m so proud of the adversity they overcame and the adult they are now. Unfortunately, I live in Arizona, so most of the support I can give is over the internet. My mom, who agrees that Cheese has been part of the family for years, is helping me organize this fundraiser.

Remember how I said both me and Cheese are transgender? Well, I’m ecstatic to say that Cheese is finally getting top surgery on June 30th. Affectionately referred to as “getting the titties chopped,” this is a gender-affirming operation to remove excess tissue from the chest of an FTM (female to male) trans person. This will reduce discomfort with the way they were born, and make their chest look masculine. Their body will finally be able to reflect the way they’ve always been on the inside. They have wanted this for so long and I couldn’t be more happy for them getting this long-awaited and much-deserved operation done.

Surgeries like this can be vital for the quality of life of trans people, and I await the day it’s not so inaccessible. In our current day, though, it’s a lot of money for one independent young adult to make. The total surgery will be around 10k, and while their work insurance covers some of it, that’s still several thousand dollars to make up for.

They work their ass off constantly, but they will need at least 2 weeks of recovery and bedrest while their body heals from the operation. The doctors recommend 4 weeks, but Cheese is a saint and wants to push through it with much less time. This means, in addition to paying for the surgery itself, they need a way to cover the missing wage while they’re in recovery. Groceries, rent, medication, bandages, any extra medical expenses that come up, all the things that are usually covered by their two jobs.

It would mean the world to me, my family, and Cheese, if you can find it in your heart to donate. Any amount helps, even five dollars goes a long way to covering all these expenses. We all know this is not a friendly world to anyone, but especially young trans POC. This is a way to make a real difference in the life of an individual reclaiming their body and power in the world. It’s a powerful act of self-care and love to make this decision, and I know they will be touched to have the rest of the community backing them up.

If you can’t donate at the moment, consider sharing and spreading the word to people who can! Repost the link anywhere you’re able to, it really makes a giant difference. If you decide to donate or share, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart.