AUSTIN, Texas — From a young age, Kim Dang knew who she wanted to be with, having met Rosa Machuca in middle school.

The two then began dating in high school.

"She's like my sunshine, she's always very bright," Dang said. "She's always very positive about things. I feel like I'm the polar opposite of her."

The two were together for 11 years, with Dang seeing Machuca go through a lot of changes. After graduating high school in 2019, Machuca dropped out of UT Austin, with Dang saying she needed to financially support her family.

Machuca then began working at Target. Over the last few years, Machuca then began her gender transition.

"[She was] able to feel comfortable calling herself as Rosa, identify as her," Dang said. "So I definitely was really proud of her to be able to be brave eno

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