Media coverage tends to sensationalize the fight over how trans kids should be allowed to live, but what is incredibly rare are the voices of the people at the heart of this debate: transgender and gender-nonconforming kids themselves. In this talk, award-winning journalist Nico Lang shares their journey of spending a year traveling the country to document the lives of transgender, nonbinary and genderfluid teens and their families. Drawing on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground interviews with them and the people in their communities, Lang paints a vivid portrait of what it’s actually like to grow up trans today. “What so many people who wish to wipe out the very existence of trans youth forget is that they aren’t boogeymen or political talking points,” they told People magazine. “They are just kids, trying to figure out who they’re taking to prom this year and finish their homework in time to hang out with their friends. They’re still figuring it all out.”