As I was deleting the 1,000+ emails on my phone, I came across an email from DKMS, an international nonprofit bone marrow donor center, that looked suspiciously like spam. The subject line read, “You’re a Match!” This seemed odd, but I clicked on the email and read what it had to say. I didn’t even remember signing up for the bone marrow donor registry, but I gave them a call in the middle of my IPPE community pharmacy rotation. After chatting with a representative from DKMS and Be The Match, I found out I had been in the registry since March of 2021.

In February 2022, Texas state legislature published statements equating gender-affirming therapy (GAT) to child abuse. This wasn’t an isolated incident, but in fact a single chapter of a series of functionally interchangeable manifestations of uninformed hostility springing forth across the country. The legislative movements in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and other states are motivated by intolerance and seek only to alienate those who are different from the ones enacting the policies. The policies target an already marginalized population, eliminating options for treatment and threatening them with worsening outcomes.

As a former Division II collegiate volleyball player, exercise and physical fitness have always been a major area of focus in my life. My days would begin with 5:00 am weightlifting and conditioning, followed by 2- to 2.5-hour practices before classes even began for the day. This was how my days were spent during my time with the team.