Schuyler Bailar was recently asked to go to prom with his friend, and he took the opportunity to highlight his transition journey with a side-by-side photo post to Instagram. One shows how he looked in 2014, when he was still presenting as a girl, and the other how he looks today.

Bailar is dapper in a tux, sharing a photo of himself in the mirror, before also posting the side-by-side comparison.

Yesterday night I took a family friend to her senior prom, and got to wear my first (ever) tux to a prom! I have to say the tux beat the dresses I wore to the two proms I went to in high school by a lot ? More pictures/comparisons to come! Stay tuned ☺️ A post shared by Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray) on May 14, 2017 at 10:53am PDT

He makes the important point that the side-by-side look at the change that has taken place over the past four years is “a total simplification” of his journey. Nor does he wish to ignore the struggle he went through to find the happiness and authenticity he has discovered.

“I did not wake up one day and just become a man, nor was I ever truly a woman. I have always been me — whether dressed in a gown or a tie. Between and before these pictures are hundreds of days of incredibly important discovery and pain and growth that I will never ignore,” Bailar wrote.

He has accomplished a lot in his 21 short years on the planet, becoming the first openly transgender collegiate swimmer in Division I sports, competing on the men’s Harvard swim team.

He appeared on Ellen last year, where he shared that he struggled to overcome an eating disorder, and talked about his transition.

It is inspiring to see how far Bailar has become in having the courage to live his truth and share hist story with the world.