03.29.17

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Transition triumph: UA student shares her story of success BY TORI TOM @DailyWildcat

DAILYWILDCAT.COM

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 –­ Thursday March 30, 2017 VOLUME 110 ISSUE 74

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 14

GET OUT AND EXPLORE TUCSON WITH THESE WILDCAT PICKS OF THE WEEK

SPORTS | PAGE 19 SPORTS EDITOR SAUL BOOKMAN ARGUES THAT ARIZONA FANS NEED TO LAY OFF SEAN MILLER

MICHELLE TOMASZKOWICZ/THE DAILY WILDCAT

ARIELLE SARAI AVALOS DECIDED to start making the full transition of her gender expression last year. Since then, her friends and family have provided unconditional support as she undergoes hormone therapy and shares her story to help other who may be going through similar struggles reconciling how they identify with how they look.

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Arielle Sarai Avalos awoke at 7 a.m. last year with an epiphany. While completing her daily routine of showering and applying makeup, she texted a friend, then left her home on Broadway Boulevard and drove to campus with a new identity. Avalos, an out-spoken 19-yearold UA student, has always known she was different, but was unable to articulate and understand why. Avalos identified as a gay teen throughout high school, harboring repressed emotions. In hindsight, repression was triggered because she lacked the proper vocabulary and knowledge. “At the time, I didn’t know what I was feeling,” Avalos said. “I’ve always been one to bottle things up and not talk about it.” Following extensive research and personal reflection, Avalos became informed, permitting her true expression as a transgender woman. Her self-discovery thrived further during her freshman year, when she took Introduction to LGBTQ Studies. “I believe it was always there, but I never knew what to call it,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Being able to get the tools [helped with] understanding who I am.” Friends instantly offered encouragement as she contemplated potential names without breakthrough results. The process remained bleak until a morning revelation compelled Avalos to consult someone she’s trusted since childhood. Aleah Shook had been a dependable confidant from the time she and Avalos lived in their hometown of Yuma. She said Avalos’ name is an authentic representation of her personality. “It is spelled like Ariel, ‘The Little Mermaid,’ but she put her own twist on it,” Shook said. “She’s very unique like that.” Determined to legalize her internal identity, Avalos paid for the expenses out-of-pocket. She submitted a name order petition to Pima County Superior Court, was granted judiciary sanction within two hours and is now interchanging her previous name on every associated archive, document

TRANSITION, 4

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