CREATIVE NON-FICTION
What I Didn’t Pack for the Journey
Because you think most about what you should have brought
Last week, Leonora Watkins tagged me in an article asking what I pack when traveling.
Coincidentally, I was reading this article while traveling to the other side of the country I live in. In that moment, I was most aware of one item that I hadn’t packed.
Needles
As a medically transitioning trans man, I’m dependent on being able to inject Testosterone into my thigh muscles once a week. Having no notice for this emergency trip, we had thought we were only staying for a few days, though we had bought one-way tickets to fly. Just to be overly cautious, I’d packed a vial of my medicine, knowing that it was irreplaceable.
My wife had said we should bring needles. I was worried about having them even in our checked bags. I was nervous enough about carrying a passport with a picture that looked so different from my current face and a deadname that I needed to…
