Tunnels in Time

I took the photo on the right in the tunnel at Sutro Baths in San Francisco in October 2016 when I was 16 and a senior in high school. I had not yet applied to college and had no idea what my future would hold. Things felt bleak, but I held onto hope that things would get better. 

I took the photo on the left in July 2023 during the summer after my first year of medical school. Standing in the same spot nearly seven years apart, I reflected on how much I have grown in the time between the two photos. Life is a lot more vibrant now, and I know that my future career will be dedicated to caring for trans youth like my younger self. 

Looking at these photos superimposed, the worn edges of the tunnel haven’t changed much over the time that thousands of people like myself and the two strangers in the photos have passed through. It feels symbolic that the weather in each photo matches how my life felt to me in that moment. 

To my younger self and all the other trans kids out there: You are so loved and you deserve to grow up and experience the joys in life. I’m rooting for you. 

Two photographs superimposed on each other from inside the tunnel at Sutro Baths in San Francisco. On the left, there is a person with long red hair sitting on a graffiti covered structure, looking out to the ocean. Beyond them is the blue sky and a large rock formation in the water. On the right, a person stands on the other side of metal barriers and looks out to the ocean. Beyond them is the same rock formation, though the sky is greyer and foggier than the photograph on the left.