Hi Everyone! So sorry I haven't been here for a long time, allot has been going on in my life as of late.
So, a few months ago I started working fulltime as a woman (As me finally!) and even though I was full time at home, I wasn't at work at the time. Well, that has all changed and I am full time at work also. It's been a couple of months and things are going really well. I took it really slow at first and started telling all of my co-workers that I am transitioning, (Even though I have already been on hormones for a long time and most already knew anyways, so It wasn't a big surprise for them lol) and had meeting with my team supervisor and team leader and they were totally cool with it. It turns out that one of my manager's husband is also trans! It was really awesome =)
Well, the day before I started working full time, my team leader had a meeting with all of my supervisors (I work at Wholefoods by the way lol) and she said: "Starting Monday, Chad will be working as Clarissa and her pronouns will be Her and She. Do not use male pronouns. Slips up are going to happen every now and then and she is okay with that as long as you don't make it into a habit". Which is true, I'm totally okay with that as long as they are trying.
Well, come Monday I show up to work nervous as hell..wearing a cute blouse and a long sleeve shirt and cute jeans, putting my apron on and got my new name tag/button that now says "Clarissa". I Threw my old "Chad" one away (God that felt good LOL) and went to check in with the supervisors to see where I was going to be working today. It went really well! There were a few haters but not many. 3 supervisors gave me hugs and flowers, and told me that I looked really great. =) And the weird thing is..even the Customers were totally nicer to me and smiled at me! I was in shocked lol. It was like..they were expecting me to become a girl. I guess some already knew, since people talk and what not but..it was amazing!
Well..a couple of months have gone by now and..it's weird. It's like..I don't even remember anymore who I was at work. Or maybe, this was supposed to be me the whole time and that "other guy" was just a lie. Which that's what it felt like to me anyways. There's been ups and downs, and a few haters here and there but it is retail and it was to be expected. But for the most part, it has gone really well. Now when I see customers, for the most part they treat me like a woman and now they call me "Clarissa knows it all" (like the T.V. show) ~but that's another story LOL. Now we have three new trans people transitioning on my team, so I guess I started a trend hehe. ;-)
So, I just wanted to share that with you all. If you are looking for work and you need to transition on the Job, Wholefoods is a great place to feel accepted and they are very supportive. :)
~Speaking of work, I have to get ready now and take a shower and go to work lol. Just remember not to give up on your dreams and it can happen. But you have to work it to make it happen.
<3 you all and I will be back soon! :)
~Clarissa
Quote from: Clarissa on February 07, 2015, 02:07:16 PM
... got my new name tag/button that now says "Clarissa". I Threw my old "Chad" one away (God that felt good LOL) ...
Yay!
That is amazing! I am so happy for you!!!
I am also totally applying there again xD
Hugs Honey.
Sometimes the big leap is just another step!
Excellent news! Did they have any kind of corporate policy in place that helped this along, or was this just something that your store managers worked on with you?
Quote from: newgrrrl on February 07, 2015, 02:13:53 PM
Yay!
Thank you Newgrrrl! It felt really good to get rid of that old name haha! =)
Quote from: accidentallyhipster on February 07, 2015, 02:25:58 PM
That is amazing! I am so happy for you!!!
I am also totally applying there again xD
Thank you Accidentallyhipster!!
The company has really come a long ways and it's a great place to transition at! =)
Quote from: ftmax on February 07, 2015, 10:26:14 PM
Excellent news! Did they have any kind of corporate policy in place that helped this along, or was this just something that your store managers worked on with you?
Thank you ftmax!! That's a very good question. They do have policies in place for trans folks and my store manager is very accepting, so that made things much easier for me. One great thing about Wholefoods is the restroom policy. As long as I am transitioning, I can use the restroom that matches my current gender. However, I cannot go back to my previous gender. (Which I would not want to detransition anyways.) And the reason being is that so that the team can get used to me being a female. Which I understand. The other reason is for protection.
Quote from: Cindy on February 07, 2015, 03:25:27 PM
Hugs Honey.
Sometimes the big leap is just another step!
Thank you soo much Cindy!! It's a huge step and scary at first, but I'm so glad that I took it! =)
Your so lucky and brave. I have a summer internship that I hope will be come a full time position, but that won't happen for another year so comming out before hand will be a rough desision. Its hard to risk a future career for such things. Let's hope every work place is like urs ;)
I love reading coming out stories like this! :)
I was told when I came out that the best possible thing to happen is for you is for you to quickly become "old news" around the water cooler at work, which is exactly what happened when I came out at work. It means that people have moved on and that they accept you in your new presentation. Judging from your avatar picture I think this will probably happen for you too, and you can get on with living your new life as the new you! 8)
I'm jealous as can be. I've got so many hesitations, so many fears, about coming out at my workplace...especially since I'm not even on hormones at the moment (haven't even been to a therapist - the insurance can't kick in fast enough!!!). But you go girl!
Thank you StrykerXIII!! It was really scary at first, but I was really amazed with how much supporters I had at work. I do have a few haters but they are not on my team and I do have to be aware of my surroundings as a Woman, but that's okay.
It is a huge relief to finally be Me for once. =) Retail is not my cup of tea but a year ago I didn't think this was even possible. Now we have three more team members transitioning at my workplace lol. ;-)
Quote from: Eva Marie on February 09, 2015, 08:36:28 AM
I love reading coming out stories like this! :)
I was told when I came out that the best possible thing to happen is for you is for you to quickly become "old news" around the water cooler at work, which is exactly what happened when I came out at work. It means that people have moved on and that they accept you in your new presentation. Judging from your avatar picture I think this will probably happen for you too, and you can get on with living your new life as the new you! 8)
Thank you Eva!! It's funny that you mention that because that seems to be happening as of late hehe. It's really weird..I don't even remember being "That other guy" anymore and it seems like another lifetime ago that I was "Somebody else" to my team members. Even though I have always been Me, people see me more as a woman now then as a "Man".
Very cool, I am very happy for you.
Scary, intimidating, and AWESOME!!!! Good for you! Go get em!