...of giving us one of the toughest challenges anyone can ever face, but ultimately, through successfully transitioning (or even just coming out and boldly being you for non TS's), to grow so much from it, possibly so much that one could even be glad to have born transgendered in the first place?
Disclaimer: I'm putting my thoughts out here for others to think about and comment on, nothing more. What I'm saying may be interpreted by some as controversial.
In other words, if one overcomes the challenge of being transgendered, it could be one of the most rewarding things anyone could ever experience, as well as the challenge of being gay. People grow from challenges, from experiences, and come out of them with a better sense of what their capabilities are, a possibly expanded sense of freedom, as well as life itself opening up (in the way one's sense of the world around them expands as they travel more) and as a result one's satisfaction with life increases. Challenges are tough, but the rewards can be well worth it.
So is this fate? Is life throwing us a potentially very tough challenge that we must overcome? One of the potential rewards of being transgender is that, from what I've seen, one is free from the shackles of conforming to society, and transgender and gay people are one of the few groups of people that really understands how precious is "being you." I'll tell you from what I've seen that lots of cis-gendered people just conform to society's expectations and are too afraid to be themselves. Even me myself, even in being in limbo, I at the very least am glad that in large part, I don't feel shackled to the male gender anymore, including its expectations, which to me feel silly. I don't agree with all the female gender expectations though, but one of the good things about not conforming to one gender is that you get to be more independent minded and can see things from a third perspective and not have to do things just because other people in your gender are doing them, you have more free will. Another possible reward is losing the fear of what other people think of you, as well as gaining the sense that "I'm a human, damnit, and I have the right to live, be happy, and enjoy my life!" which is something that many more passive cisgendered people don't have.
And this probably mostly applies to transgender people who are more out, as from what I've seen, transgender people who are stealth don't enjoy many of the benefits and sort of remain living in fear about being outed.
Now much of us probably wished that we were born cis-gendered, and we can't change our past, but I think we may overlook or not appreciate the things we gain from the experience of transitioning. Friends and family may be lost, but friends and family that truly love you may be gained. A spouse may be lost, but a truly great person as a spouse may be gained. A life may be lost, but a truly magnificent life may be gained. Look at how many cisgendered people have phony friends, a spouse that doesn't really love them, must keep appearances including working long hours as a result, and have to deal with not so pleasant family members, and ultimately aren't happy with life as a result?
Kimberley Reed, a high school football player that transitioned to become a lesbian filmmaker, had said that she was glad that she was born transgender, because it taught her boldness, something that many women don't have.
"If she could go back, Kim says she would have made the transition much earlier, but she is glad she was raised as a boy for one reason. "I think that just [by] being a boy, it's okay for you to be bold and independent and do whatever you want to do. Sometimes, I see girls who are growing up where they reach that age where they really start to doubt themselves and question and kind of withdraw like 11, 12, 13," Kim says. "I'm glad that I was kind of given this license to [have] this boldness.""
Read more:
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Filmmaker-Kimberly-Reeds-Transgender-Transition/4#ixzz2Xk5VuF8WOne could take the easy, the straight road, that doesn't lead to anywhere nice, or one could take the bumpy, winding, treacherous road, that leads to the most beautiful and majestic places one could ever be in. Which is the road more worth it to take?
