In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a masked ICE agent shot and killed another person, the 14th ICE shooting under Trump to date. 

In spring 2025, The Our Fund Foundation launched Trans Voices, a recurring op-ed series designed to spotlight powerful, first-person stories from South Florida’s transgender community and the allies who stand beside them. Developed and sponsored in partnership with OutSFL, the initiative amplifies deeply personal narratives — stories of surviving suicide attempts, confronting body dysphoria, navigating fear of being targeted, and enduring the anguish of being denied equal treatment. 

As we reflect on 2025, it is important — essential, even — that we pause to celebrate. Too often, conversations about our LGBTQ community focus on challenges, setbacks, and fears. While those realities exist, this moment is about something else entirely: joy, progress, resilience, and pride. This is a celebratory piece, written intentionally to honor how far we’ve come and the strength we carry forward together. 

Every new year arrives with a familiar pressure: be quieter, be smaller, be easier to digest. Tone it down. Smooth the edges. Make yourself more comfortable for others.