Positivity.

[GnomeKid]

So there obviously is a lot of inherent frustration associated with being trans.. and really all there is to do in the long run (apart from transitioning... but that certainly isn't perfect) is to just get over it.  Which is, of course, easier said than done.
I started thinking about this when someone asked me one of those lame "if you had one wish what would it be?" questions.  My first gut reaction response was "I'd wish to have been born a guy" but almost instantly after that I thought "no, while it'd have been great to have been born 'right' I'd more than probably be a very different person, and I like who I am/have become/am becoming."  So I said I wish it were possible to become a fully and functionally anatomically correct guy. (not that that part of the story actually matters but I figured I'd finish it out anyway)
Personally, I think I, and really just people in general in all aspects of life, focus far too much on the things we can't have/do/experience and things that we generally miss out on in life rather than those amazing things we do get to have/experience that maybe a cisgendered individual wouldn't get to experience.   

So I figured I'd make a thread for people to share all the things they're glad they've been able to experience in their lives (really trans related or not-so trans related) because sometimes we need a little nudge to get us to look at life's pluses a little more, or sometimes we get so blocked up with negativity that we can't even see all the positive things we've experienced/are experiencing/could someday experience and seeing what positives others have found in their ->-bleeped-<- lives could help others notice things better in their own.

I guess I'll start:
- I think being trans (or queer in any way) can give you a unique and more openminded outlook on the world than a lot of "normal" people let themselves experience, and I'm grateful for being able to experience this.
- I'm grateful for the soul searching, and the process of getting to know myself better, involved with transitioning.
- I can never get/have never been kicked in the balls

your turn... go!

[Nero]

I think being trans has given me more respect toward women and what they have to go through than if I had been born male. Not that there aren't biomen who feel the same way but I have experienced what it's like to be treated as a woman. I think this can only be a good thing. There's nothing bad about having some insight into both sexes.
And I know what the female body needs sexually in ways other men never will.

[Jamie-o]

I'll agree with the getting kicked in the balls part. 

I also find it really fascinating discovering the differences between being on E and being on T.  There is so much more that gets controlled by hormones than I realized.  And it makes me much more tolerant of different people's emotional reactions to different situations (including my own).  I'm less likely to think, "Oh she's being a drama queen!" or "He's being an insensitive jerk!" or "Why am I so weak that I can't even make my point without crying?!"

I'm grateful, since I'm gay, that I'm never going to have to deal with that issue as a teenager.  I think I'm mentally and emotionally much more equipped to deal with it at this point in my life.

I'm glad I'm old enough that I will probably never have to deal with people picking fights with me or physically bullying me.  I'm also glad that when I kid those who might have physically bullied me weren't prepared to risk getting beaten up by a girl. (Everyone knew that I fought in tournaments, and was pretty good.)  There was also still a certain amount of taboo around hitting a girl.

[Calistine]

Although I dont like the concept that Im trans, I don't think it was a mistake to have been born this way. I think it was meant for me to figure out who I am as a person, and to test that I would stay true to myself. I guess if I was born a boy I would take it for granted.
And about the getting kicked in the balls thing, hahaha i have been before...it hurt like hell. But tis probaby because I was wearing guys clothes

[Walter]

If I had been born a biological male I'd be a different person than who I am today. Everyone around me would've treated me different and in the end I'd be a different person. I like the way I am now. I just think "So what if I wasn't born a bio-male? The only difference is the body. What counts is on the inside". I'll never be happy with my body. Even if I fully transitioned. So I might as well stick with what I got

[DamagedChris]

I will say that transitioning has been an interesting social observation for me...most people don't notice all the nuances about what makes a person socially "male" or "female".

It's given me a better understanding of both genders, and quite honestly opened my eyes to acceptance of transgendered people...I'm probably not alone in when I was growing up we were fed the lines that all transgendered people or transsexual people were "freaks" or "mentally ill" and was hard really imagining people living daily lives like that. (didnt help I grew up mostly in farming communities and small towns...bible-thumpers ftl).

It's also opened my own eyes to things about my own personality I would never have seen otherwise...and I like myself better because of it. And funny enough...I would never have learned to sew if it wasn't for being trans    (I'm short, so learning how to shorten my own clothing without shopping in the kiddie department has paid off...)

Do I wish I'd have been born a boy? Yes and no...yes because I would have liked to experience the comfort I've grown to love about it. No because I like my mind the way it is, and I might not have turned out as creative or had the same talents, and I wouldn't be nearly this accepting of difference in the world.

[Miniar]

I wouldn't be me if I wasn't me and even if I don't like me I like a lot of the things I have around me.
My husband, best friend, and partner in all things.
My daughter.

If I wasn't a biological female, I wouldn't have had my daughter, and I probably wouldn't have ended up making many of the choices that led me to even get to know my husband.
All the good I have I have cause I'm who I am.

Yes, I'd probably have found some good in life anyway, but I wouldn't trade this for the world.
I never knew relationships could be this good before him.
I never knew I could find acceptance before him.