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Author’s Note As activists, we all have the little things we say to ourselves when we’re back from the rallies, when we’re tying our shoelaces, when we’re filling water bottles or plugging in our laptop chargers in busy cafes. Small wishes, little rituals, our protest anthem to ourselves. “I believe that we will win” was the one I learned. When I was a young trans girl, I learned quickly that the world was not made for people like me. I had grown up on the same tired narra- tives that made trans people into slurs, punch lines, ghost stories, and boogeymen (or women, in my case), and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t help but learn some of it. It didn’t take me much longer to learn about the other things, about discrimination and marginalization, prejudice, and violence. “Why would you ever choose any of this?” people asked, and my response was always shame. I believed I deserved it. Community gave me the hope to dream of a better world, and the strength to believe in the collective power of trans people and their allies. “I believe that we will win,” I told myself, and saying it out loud gave those words power. I know now that the trans community is resilient, vibrant, loving, and fierce, and that the work of liberation— of dreaming up and moving toward a more just world where people of all identities and experiences can thrive—is larger than any of us. In writing this book, I am excited to play a part in this vision, and humbled by the work that has come before me. To the fighters, dream- ers, survivors, and lovers who make up our global trans community, thank you. I believe that we will win. Lily Zheng