8 Things I Did in New Orleans

And twelve more I have to go back for

The first time I went to New Orleans was after the death of my mother when I was just 20 years old. I went with my younger sister and we joined a big group of friends there for Mardi Gras. Traveling with my 17-year-old sister 2,000 miles from our small town in California was an epic journey. Just making it there in our little Volkswagon squareback seemed heroic. The apartment our friends had rented was in a trans building, unbeknownst to them. I met a community of transwomen at a point in my life when I barely knew…