E – Aria Sa’id, a 28-year-old black transgender woman, fixes her hair on the morning of Tuesday, June 5. Aria transitioned 11 years ago, and her experiences have shaped her work and identity to this day. “My conviction at that time, at 17, was to ‘Live my life on my terms, or suicide,’ because I was suicidal before my transition. I did not feel like my body was congruent to who I knew myself to be. It was a consistent experience ever since I was three. I think there was a thirst to prove myself as authentic, because it always felt like people did not see me as authentic,” Aria said.