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As we embark on our summer break, many of us—including myself—want to do nothing more than rot on a couch for the entire summer. As I witnessed over the academic year, we all seem exhausted and want to deeply rest after a difficult academic year.

As we know, our current political system is a violent one which has not made our experiences any better. LGBTQ+ rights are being attacked, there is an active genocide occurring in Palestine, and we are at war with Iran. As a transgender woman of color and faculty member, I find it challenging to want to live authentically or experience the world when the world seems to be actively attempting to eradicate me as a human.

As I think about how to live authentically, joyfully, and rebelliously this summer, several questions emerge: How might rest, self-care, and laughter — particularly during the summer — be construed as personal acts of resistance? Can deliberately choosing happiness resist or disrupt oppression? To grapple—not answer—with these questions, I want to share my summer research travel experience to highlight the challenges trans women of color face across the world, but to also show the need to live unapologetically with care and laughter during a time of so much violence and uncertainty.

Travel Anxiety: Violent Systems

In Fall 2025, I needed to update my passport to travel to Paris, France for an academic summer conference—this resulted in severe anxiety for many reasons. One, traveling through the airport can be a terrifying experience as a trans person. Sasha Constanza-Chock (2020) has written about traveling as a transgender woman and the issues she faced at the TSA checkpoint. Her story sheds light on the violence she experienced when airport screening technology highlighted her pelvis. She was approached by a male TSA agent who attempted to search her. Later, a  female TSA agent searched  her with a disgusted look on her face.

Recently, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order 14160: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship which has forced government agencies to not honor gender changes on US Passports. Because of this new executive order, my renewed passport states my former gender: Male. As I prepared to travel this summer, I knew that dealing with border agents and other airport security could result in severe or violent interactions.

Traveling While Trans: An Issue Arises

My Europe trip consisted of visiting seven countries: France, Italy, The Vatican, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, and Germany. When I flew from Athens, Greece to Krakow, Poland,, I received many stares from passengers on the plane as one man and I were the only people of color on the entire flight (a very uncomfortable situation). Later, as we approached the exit where the security guards stood, this same man  and I were immediately approached and asked to step aside.

In utter confusion, I asked if everything was ok. The security guard looked at me and asked, why are you in Poland? I responded, I am here to tour the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. As I waited for them to run my information, I texted my friends to let them know where I was as a safety precaution, using levity to lighten the mood.

Security brought more security with them who sternly said, “your passport information did not show up, we need to run your information again!” As I handed them my passport, the female security guard exclaimed loudly in front of everyone, “ahhhh, they are a man, we got their gender wrong!!” Instantly, the male security guards looked me up and down with  disgust. Instead of remaining silent, I twirled my body around like a model and joked, “money well spent, right?” The women laughed and the male security guards looked shocked. After they reentered my information, they let me proceed with my travels. I updated my friends about the encounter and held my head high, even though shaken up, I continued with my travels.

Living Authentically, Joyfully, and Rebelliously

Living authentically, joyfully, and rebelliously is needed when the world is in crisis. After that airport encounter, all I wanted to do was hide in my Airbnb and cry for the remainder of my trip. All I could think about was whether all the citizens of Poland would identify me as “male” and whether I would be bullied or worse. Worst of all, I spiraled and began feeling shame for feeling terrible as I began to compare my experiences with the even worse experiences of others. Instead, I let myself feel guilty but I also forced myself to go outside and to remind myself that living authentically, joyfully and rebelliously is needed to enjoy our lives. In our lives, there will always be violence that will impact us, our neighbors, and our very own communities. However, if we do not find joy, rest, and laughter, we will never find peace. My suggestion to the ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Community is to search for joy and laughter to restore our bodies. As we know, tomorrow is not guaranteed so why not live authentically, joyfully, and rebelliously today?