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On 8 years.

8 years of living my truth. From Aaron to Grace, and a lifetime of memories waiting to be made.

On 8 years.

Originally shared on Instagram · 13 July 2026

Today marks 8 years of living my truth.

8 years of catharsis and metamorphosis, discrimination and affirmation, disability and empowerment, fear and courage, family lost and gained, friendships formed and forsaken, listlessness and clarity, tearing down and rebuilding, budding and blossoming; self-doubt, self-acceptance, and self-love.

8 years of journals kept and moods tracked, diagnoses given and treatment received, depression and hypomania, suicidal thoughts and surgical recoveries, chaos and stability, limerence and romance, addiction and sobriety, fear and courage, demons surfaced and ghosts banished, falling down in darkness and being lifted up into the light.

8 years of listening and speaking, of tears and laughter, of bickering and reconciliation, of deep reflection and spontaneous decisions, of mistakes made and lessons learned, of mothering and teaching.

8 years of motorcycle riding, tattoo sessions, globe-trotting, start-up building, Metropolitan queeraoke, pool shooting, Haven bartending, Diamond orders, acid trips, ego death, name changes, Trunnies Only, 3-day benders, rooftop realizations, birthday partying, afters hosting, Liberty championships, menthol cigarettes, games of quarters, guitar strumming, boudoir photoshoots, Pride fundraisers, Vancouver rainstorms, California sunsets, New York City skylines, Amsterdam bike lanes, Palm Springs celebrations, rugby matches, Tucson pilgrimages, estrogen injections, ecstatic dancing, sublet-hopping, one-way tickets, ocean crossings, hard goodbyes, and warm welcomes.

8 years of blessings from angels like Heather, Indigo, Sadie, Pierce, Marta, Adri, Gaby, Eric, Alex, Gray, Jorah, Denay, Frankie, Ava, Brooke, Sara, Karlea, Najee, Lucy, Kenz, Princess, Sav, Chloe, Zoey, Liv, Lex, and everyone in between.

Cheers to the years of transformation from Aaron to Grace, and here’s to a lifetime of memories waiting to be made.

1. My final photo posted before coming out full-time, outside my first home in the Mission district of San Francisco.
1. My final photo posted before coming out full-time, outside my first home in the Mission district of San Francisco.
2. Halloween 2018: my first as Grace, no longer hiding behind a mask, with my partner Heather who was with me through all of the tough times and beautiful moments in those tender first years.
2. Halloween 2018: my first as Grace, no longer hiding behind a mask, with my partner Heather who was with me through all of the tough times and beautiful moments in those tender first years.
3. My roommate Marta and I’s motorcycle photoshoot in the California twilight, in the beginning of 2019
3. My roommate Marta and I’s motorcycle photoshoot in the California twilight, in the beginning of 2019
4. My first bagel in Central Park at the start of what would turn into a 3 month whirlwind adventure in NYC after a national championship with the @allbluesrugby , jumping sublet to sublet and meeting the most wonderful group of people who would soon welcome me to my new home for the next 3 years.
4. My first bagel in Central Park at the start of what would turn into a 3 month whirlwind adventure in NYC after a national championship with the @allbluesrugby , jumping sublet to sublet and meeting the most wonderful group of people who would soon welcome me to my new home for the next 3 years.
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5. Arm wrestling with @babbling.brooke.alexandria during my first month staying on Scholes St. around the corner from my future Meserole apartment where I lived with @ms.chief____ , @princhinchin and @sav.g.bas .

6. @sara.doe and I right after we met at a party in a swanky Manhattan loft on the Upper East Side, midway through 3 days straight forming the foundations of a friendship that will last a lifetime.
6. @sara.doe and I right after we met at a party in a swanky Manhattan loft on the Upper East Side, midway through 3 days straight forming the foundations of a friendship that will last a lifetime.
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7. One of a million pool practice sessions on the table at @metropolitan_bk .

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8. My first time singing live as Grace in San Francisco, performing Welcome by @heyrosetta just before making the move to NYC full-time that September of ‘22.

9. My five year anniversary Boudoir photoshoot where I raised over $1000 for @translifeline .
9. My five year anniversary Boudoir photoshoot where I raised over $1000 for @translifeline .
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10. The beautiful tranniversary party @sara.doe organized for me in the backyard of @haven_grand , surrounded by chosen family.

11. @whateverjosie and I at my 30th birthday party in Rockaway beach where friends from all over the country flew in to celebrate a major turning point in my personal growth.
11. @whateverjosie and I at my 30th birthday party in Rockaway beach where friends from all over the country flew in to celebrate a major turning point in my personal growth.
12. @stoke_chaser and I, my first best friend made after coming out, shining radiantly at her beautiful wedding, and sharing our mutual love of rock climbing.
12. @stoke_chaser and I, my first best friend made after coming out, shining radiantly at her beautiful wedding, and sharing our mutual love of rock climbing.
13. A battered and bloody victory photo, still smiling after winning the semi-finals with @nyrcwomen in Coney Island.
13. A battered and bloody victory photo, still smiling after winning the semi-finals with @nyrcwomen in Coney Island.
14. @delusionsofgender and I on the rooftop at 155 Meserole during my 31st birthday party.
14. @delusionsofgender and I on the rooftop at 155 Meserole during my 31st birthday party.
15. @trophywid0w and I on the rooftop at sunrise a few days before my bottom surgery, and before they stayed with me as my primary caretaker for the first difficult weeks of recovery and rebirth.
15. @trophywid0w and I on the rooftop at sunrise a few days before my bottom surgery, and before they stayed with me as my primary caretaker for the first difficult weeks of recovery and rebirth.
16. An old-money Hollywood photoshoot to commemorate the realization of my beauty brought to me through everyone who was there to get me across the finish line during the last fearful days and nights before going under the knife, when my mental health was near its breaking point.
16. An old-money Hollywood photoshoot to commemorate the realization of my beauty brought to me through everyone who was there to get me across the finish line during the last fearful days and nights before going under the knife, when my mental health was near its breaking point.
17. My most tender moment captured with my foil and kindred spirit @graylaughlove , who drove across the country to be there when I woke up, and who is my rock and inspiration for how to lead a live worth living.
17. My most tender moment captured with my foil and kindred spirit @graylaughlove , who drove across the country to be there when I woke up, and who is my rock and inspiration for how to lead a live worth living.
18. Triumph and jubilation at NYU Langone with a body finally formed into the image held in my head since birth, surrounded all 5 days in the hospital by my loving friends.
18. Triumph and jubilation at NYU Langone with a body finally formed into the image held in my head since birth, surrounded all 5 days in the hospital by my loving friends.
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19. My final goodbye to my closest New York family and chosen children, @delusionsofgender and @sara.doe, who gave me one of the most beautiful gifts of watching them grow up and step into their power, just before boarding a train from Penn Station to Niagara Falls, where I marched across the border to Canada, falling to my knees at the meridian knowing I had finally made it to safety.

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20. Carefree dancing at Mysterland with @zoeydokey where I met @mandilion810 and the rest of the rave crew, marking the start of a new adventure in Amsterdam, restoring my peace and courage.