A big hello to everyone from Miami, Florida.
I'd like to introduce myself to you though after spending the last few days going through the forums; I feel that I know many of you already. My name is Vanessa, and while that has not been what friends and family have called me for the past 21 years, it is who I've always been behind the facade that I've presented to the world.
I've known since I was eleven that who I was and who I appeared to be was not the same but it's only been very recently that I've mustered the courage to look into the mirror and dared to see the person behind the flesh. Really, that's thanks to all of you; it was seeing your courage and learning your stories that gave me the strength to draw back the curtain if only for myself.
I'm not afraid to admit that coming to terms with who I am was utterly terrifying and utterly exhilarating all at once. I've learned that the journey I'm about to embark on is long and arduous but I hope that with your support that it is not as lonely as I had once thought it would be.
