LJ: My friend Ann, she’s been my friend for probably six or seven years now. I used to go to her house dressed like a guy, change while I was there, and then we would go out to dinner.

And I remember we went to a restaurant and we sit down at the table and the waitress comes up to us and says, “How are you doing, ladies?” Beforehand I had always been the man and she was the woman. And it was interesting to see how the waitress put the check in front of her, instead of in front of me, or even in the middle.

I think my identity changed in many ways with the surgery. I express myself differently with how I dress, with how I sit with people. I feel much more comfortable in some ways. I think before, even though I was very comfortable, you know, living and presenting as a woman, there was still part of me that felt like I was hiding, you know, what was under the clothes didn’t match what was presenting through the clothes. After having had the surgery, it does feel like less of a costume. It feels like this is just who I am at this point. You know, I’ve made that decision; I’ve taken that step. And it is who I am in a more fundamental way than it was before.