My name is Ash, and I'm a transgender man. I've been living with extreme gender dysphoria for as long as I can remember, and I've only just now started to take the steps to gender-affirming surgery.

In light of recent events in America, I am concerned that I will be unable to pursue gender-affirming surgery if things continue as they are. Even $1 will help me achieve a future I have been working towards for many years. You would be doing a small part in making the world a better and safer place for transgender and LGBTQ+ people like myself.

It is very difficult to live with constant gender dysphoria. Some days, it's just a feeling of miasma in the background. Other days, it is impossible to ignore the overwhelming grief. I live my life knowing that my body will never perfectly match my gender. I am constantly an afterthought to society. It is exhausting to constantly have to fight to even be acknowledged. Even when you are acknowledged, its often with hatred and disgust. I just want to feel like my body is more congruent with my gender even if it will never be perfect. I want to fight, but I cannot do it on my own.

I will not go into detail about the struggles I have had to overcome due to being trans, but to put it gently, I lost contact with most of my family, friends, and support systems. Everyone I know either cannot or will not financially support me on this, so I am turning to the kindness and generosity of strangers.

It may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but you are literally helping to save my life, and that is a kindness I will not soon forget. If I can, I will make it up to each and every single person who donates. I am humbly imploring you to please help me when there are so few out there who will.

All of the funds will go towards gender-affirming surgery. I will be open and include details of where all funds are going as events unfold. I will not, however, be blowing up your email. I'll only post the updates here.