A Eulogy for Trans Lives
There are few universal human constants besides birth and death. The start and end of life, despite thousands of years of knowledge and discovery, remain a great unknowable. It may seem like these two benchmarks of existence are as large as they are unfathomable, but they are nothing compared to the journey in between. Every life is a universe. Every day we travel this existence with intention–or not. We pull new people into our orbits and shine like brilliant stars, and some days we are a mess wrapped up in blankets. But the impact we have on those around us is undeniable and profound.
We built this website both to mourn and to celebrate–so many lives have been lost–so much brilliance and joy and laughter and hope lost to the wind. It is never easy to mourn a death. Like the sun or the moon, our loved ones become constants. Their light warms and comforts us; we know they are there for us even when we aren’t looking for them. They affect the tides of our lives, bringing richness, comfort, and happiness and sweeping away our sadness and doubts. We look to our loved ones for guidance even when they make us angry–perhaps especially when they make us angry. It is when we know we can be our worst selves and still be loved that a friend becomes family. They are constant.
This memorial to transgender, nonbinary, nonconforming, and queer loved ones is incomplete because our society makes it hard to see our numbers in life and in death. You can read more about our fight in our report but just like stars in the daytime, we are still here. Our glow is not diminished. We shine with a fire that will go on long after we have died, and in that light, more of us live and grow and thrive from the beauty and energy that we radiate into the world. We have always been here and in the passion, love, art, activism, families, memories, and hope we have created, we are forever.
