Trans Teen Overcome With Emotion As His Classmates Surprise Him By Raising Money For Him To Legally Change His Name
A heartwarming TikTok has been circulating the internet, showing a trans teen that was given a beautiful birthday surprise by his classmates, causing him to break down in tears.
Andi Bernabe was already surprised to find a choir room full of friends and classmates on his 18th birthday:
"They've been planning this for a month. You're abt to see why," reads the caption.
Within no time at all, the reason is revealed.
"Since you're like a legal adult," a classmate who walked over said, "we kinda raised enough money for you to change your name."
@komahina__ WHEN THEY SAID “we raised money for you to change your name” MY JAW DROPPED AND I STARTED TO CRY IMMEDI… https://t.co/tIEkaCuslg— 𝕍𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕥! ❤️🩹 (@𝕍𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕥! ❤️🩹) 1581190496
After receiving the envelope, Andi bursts into tears.
The video blew up on Tik Tok and has over 944,000 likes.
@komahina__ When they saw their friends singing happy birthday : 😊🥺🥰🤗 When they got their present: https://t.co/A8qQRaOKVw— Rubi. (@Rubi.) 1581157500
@komahina__ @Anna_DeNight Happy birthday to you Andi and I hope everything in your life is all that you hope for ca… https://t.co/NLrLe6OmOQ— ☆ ℬ𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒶☆ (@☆ ℬ𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒶☆) 1581142051
@komahina__ We need the arts in school! This is so sweet and an example of how to be exceptional allies. Everybody… https://t.co/GlBpJRs5Kz— soundscientist🧬 (@soundscientist🧬) 1581140350
@komahina__ https://t.co/not9T5DxxF— SketchyKay (ART RAFFLE!) (@SketchyKay (ART RAFFLE!)) 1581137117
Bernabe, who's from the greater Dallas area, says that he had "no clue at all, not even hints."
"They made this fake paper birth certificate and they all signed it," Bernabe told Yahoo! Lifestyle.
"I obviously dropped down to the floor and started crying. It was overwhelming honestly, I couldn't believe they actually did it, especially since it's $300. I was planning on getting a job to pay for it, and just putting a little bit away every month."
@komahina__ @transjohnny https://t.co/OFZtniBZDN— astrea (@astrea) 1581136973
@komahina__ @hanneskun My face when they revealed they raised money for his name change https://t.co/hY5NQVuMOq— Naomi Maybe 🎮 (@Naomi Maybe 🎮) 1581142372
$300 is roughly the fee for a name change in Texas.
The party the group planned for him was also in celebration of this big step in Bernabe's life.
"All the decorations were 'It's a boy!'-themed. The cake was strawberry and they put blue icing on top," he said. "The joke was, 'Oh, we accidentally made a pink cake for a girl but it turned out to be a boy'."
@komahina__ @LOV3JONES31 Was not prepared for the emotions I just felt. Wow this is awesome ❤️❤️❤️— Monique Samuels (@Monique Samuels) 1581190974
Texas has been notably unfriendly to its transgender residents, continually denying transgender citizens equal protections under the law, and seeing a number of transgender homicides in major metropolitan areas.
This small show of kindness is a step in the right direction for Texas and its future citizens.