#ok no more overthinking if i need 6 more qualifications or two less im just calling this good enough

[softness-and-shattering]

Question for anyone who's had top surgery, or any emotionally similar kind of surgery, not necessarily gender-affirming surgery. Did you film your reactions afterwards, waking up, taking off the dressings, first time putting on a regular shirt kind of thing? Im sort of in two minds, because its always good to see people feeling joyful in their bodies. Feeling right, the relief. On the other hand, its always so intensely emotional that it feels like it should be private. And what about if its not emotional, if you're just exhausted or you dont have a very obvious external reaction or you're not sure - or are sure - that you dont like it actually. Has anyone made recordings and not shared them, just kept them for yourself?

What about taking before/after pictures to share with other (+-trans) people, other people looking into the same surgeon, that kind of thing?

And whatever you did or didnt do, how do you feel about it now? Would you go back and do things differently if you could? Including if you'd rather you didnt get the surgery done at all, Im open to a variety of perspectives. As long as you're not transphobic about it, which I dont expect but feel I should probably say to cover my bases. For context and transparency I'm just a person trying to figure out how I feel about it for myself, what I might want or not want to do. Personal reasons. Im not a journalist and I promise Im not writing some article I want juicy quotes for. (And if it seems weird that I would clarify that, I've heard stories of people asking to interview trans people as though sympathetic, and then twisting everything in publishing to demonize us. Its a farce of journalistic integrity and I wouldn't blame anyone for being suspicious of questions like this.)