I Had Waited 29 Years for That Day. I Thought That After It Was Over, I Would Finally Be Able to Look in the Mirror Without Feeling Ashamed… But Just Three Days Later, I Locked Myself in the Bathroom and Cried to My Mom, “I Think I Just Made the Biggest Mistake of My Life.”

way I always had.

Eventually, the long preparation began.

For months, things slowly changed, and for the first time in my life, I started taking pictures of myself exactly as I was.

Three days before the procedure, I posted a photo.

Two days before, I posted another.

And under the last picture, I wrote only one word:

“Tomorrow.”

The next morning, I went to the hospital.

My mom held my hand the entire way.

Before they took me in, the doctor sat beside me.

“For the first few days, you may look in the mirror and not recognize yourself. Please don’t be frightened by that.”

I tried to laugh.

“I just want all of this to be over.”

A few hours later, I opened my eyes in a hospital room.

The first day was difficult.

The second was even harder.

But on the third day, they sent me home.