How to come out of the closet and start.

[Crystal...]

Hi my name is Chris or Crystal hopefully some day, and this is my first time posting here. Iv'e known that i have some serius issues with my body ever sence i was 10 or 11. I have a very small family but they are very closed minded people. My father is dead and so are his parents so the only real family i have are my mom and her parents (Im an only child). I don't think theres any way i could come out of the closet and be supported by them at all. I just don't know if i should wait until im out of the house to begin transitioning or what. I don't want to do anything insane like run away from home but lately iv'e been getting worried that it's getting too late for my transition to be a smooth one. Im 5'7 and getting taller every day and more manly. I don't know if waiting these  years to get out of the house will effect me negetively but i know no matter what happens, I won't be recieving support from my family and most likely alot of my freinds. My freinds are open minded people but they are also the kind to make jokes about the mentally handicapped kid.

[Colleen Ireland]

First of all, Welcome.  You are among family here.  All of us have similar stories, and share many of the same feelings and situations.  I gather you're still young, and financially dependent on your mother.  What I would say is don't worry too much about waiting "too long" to have a smooth transition.  I'm just beginning, and I'm 54, and I have lots of hope for a good transition.  Of course, I have problems you won't have (a wife and kids).  As a first step, I would suggest you look around to see if you can find a good support group or therapist near you, and begin exploring this for yourself.  You don't need to do anything more than that in the beginning.  And we're here for you.

[Janet_Girl]

Hi Crystal,

Welcome to our little family. Over 4700 strong. That would be one heck of a family reunion.

Feel free to post your successes/failures, Hopes/dreams.  Ask questions and seek answers. Give and receive advice.

But remember we are family here, your family now. And it is always nice to have another sister.

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Hugs and Love,
Janet

[K8]

Welcome to Susan's, Crystal.   There are lots of threads with advice on how to come out - look around.

If your parents are probably unaccepting, I think that it would be better to wait until you can support yourself and live elsewhere before you come out.  Don't worry about it being "to late".  It is only too late when you are dead.  While you may get better results starting earlier, you will not get good results if you are depending on unaccepting family.  Be patient.  Find a support group.  Read everything you can.  And prepare yourself to live your own life as soon as you are able.

Good luck.  You'll get where you need to be.

- Kate

[tekla]

prepare yourself to live your own life as soon as you are able

Awesome.  Self-sufficiency sucks in a lot of ways, but in each and every one of those ways it strongly resembles freedom.