Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Ok. I sometimes think that people coming here to find out about being trans must go away with the impression that we all go through hell.

The place is littered with stories about people who lose everything when they transition, and seemingly face insurmountable obstacles, and I know that those of you who report such things are certainly not making them up.

Inevitably this also creates an impression in the mind of the wider public. (those that know about transition that is) The number of times people have said to me, "oh you are so brave, you must have suffered so much".

The thing is when someone says that to me I always end up feeling like something of a fraud because the truth is I had a pretty lucky time of it. I won't repeat the whole story because I have told it enough times, but suffice it to say that I have hardly experienced any of the frustrations of being trans. What I have had is many many interesting experiences that I wouldn't have otherwise had. So on the contrary, for me, in the main, the whole thing has been a wonderful adventure, and I feel that overall it was more of a blessing than a curse.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I was talking with a dear friend tonight and we both agreed that perhaps we need a thread to counteract some of the doom and gloom. So here it is. Please post your positive stories of Translife in this thread. If you want to moan and groan and bitch please post in another thread. What we want here are the uplifting moments which made you feel YES - this life is good. I love my life!

Over to you...

Well here's my contribution

Quote from: Tea With AliceOkay, I have an admission...I quite often feel incredibly guilty about how well my transition has gone. It's almost like some Transition Fairy (probably from Cornwall) has waved her magic wand and boom...everything has been perfect. Well not everything, but then nothing ever is, but the negative stuff I've had to deal with could probably be described as a slightly wobbly stepping stone across a river, which as a hurdle to transition is more annoying that anything. Read some peoples stories and you get the impression that they've had to drag themselves through fiery pits, lined with shards of glass and razor blades, and filled with chattering, acid blooded deamons with claws that are oh so sharp, just to be able to even get to the point where they can begin to transition. I admire these people, and the strength they must posses to have overcome the things they had to, and to still be smiling at the end. Me, I'm just some skinny wench, whose been seemingly blessed with good looks, eternal youth and a card marked "Free Pass". And I feel guilty because I've barely had to struggle with things at all.

Well enough is enough, I'm not going to feel guilty about my story...it is after all uniquely mine and no one else's. I will still continue to admire the strength and fortitude that a lot of the guys and girls i've met online show, in many cases just to get to the end of the day. You guys are seriously awesome and if I could I'd visit each and everyone of you to give you a hug and a high five just to let you know how seriously awesome you all are. But yes, I digress (as usual), I'm not going to feel guilty, I'm going to embrace how positive my story is, and maybe...just maybe, if your reading this and you're still deep in your hey! I can see Narnia from here phase (thanks E), then you'll read this and know it's not all doom and gloom. You won't lose all your friends, your family won't disown you, you won't get sacked, you really are prettier (or more handsome) than you give yourself credit for and on balance now that you've let yourself out of your loving handcrafted prison, life is so much better than you ever thought it could be...isn't it. See, I'm right, you got to the point of transitioning, you are going to succeed, because failing would mean you'd still be able to see Narnia for the rest of your life.

So yes, I'm TS and on balance I  love my life. You should too, because being alive is one of the single most joyous things we can do.

This is an awesome idea Jenny :) While yes I've had some hardships I love my life too! My family accepts me and tries hard with pronouns. I've not had any real trouble since high school so really I've just been lucky :) I live my life just the same way I would if I was a bio guy with very few troubles. I also have an accepting job where I will be transitioning and they are all okay with it. Pretty awesome!

Yeah it's about time.


I love this place, but feel alienated sometimes simply because i dont fit the narrative...or what people "think" all TG females must go through. Yes i deal with depression, but i can't imagine it being more than the average person.
I don't like to talk about it because i think it makes other girls "hate" me, or think i am showing off...but the truth of the matter is...is that i have a ton of insecurities, and still very vulnerable inside.

Positive stories could be that i started hormones at 19, i have always been mistaken as a girl so i guess that made transitioning a million times easier. I dont struggle with "passing", i  forget that i am trans and when talking about trans issues i feel like i am talking about other people. I am of average height, i have a girls voice, i have a head full of hair, ive already had my SRS, i dont need any more nor have ever had any other surgery. I have an hourglass figure, guys check me out on a regular basis, cis-girls get jealous of me, i have an education and most importantly...my mom loves me to death and my father who recently passed, had told me i was the gem of his life and he's so proud of me.  This moved me to tears because he had been so violently opposed to me transitioning early on.  I love my parents so much despite everything that's happened.

I feel horrible that other girls dont have an easy of a time as i do, and that makes me feel guilty and lonely in so many ways. But that is life right? You accept what you can, and you move on and take with you the things that haunts you and you make the best of it. I dont feel very accepted by the trans community, nor the straight community, nor the gay community, nor even the asian community because i am half.


I also get to travel a LOT, i hop on a plane almost every other month and the other times i am in las vegas clubbing. My next trip is in April on a cruise that goes to Italy, france, egypt and turkey. So there, i am just a whiny spoiled little kid.


The only thing i can easily say that i am jealous of, are the people who transition after they have had children. That and people who have been in 29 years long term relationships and are happy. I can never have kids and the expression on the faces of the men i have told...just breaks my heart.

I am glad that people's lives can going well.  Mine is so-so.  Transition-wise it has been great, except for the job loss.  But my life has not been a great thing.

I am going to file for bankruptcy, again.  Try to get some training to get a job.  And then try to survive.  I know I would be living in a mansion, but I would like something else than an RV.  I am tried of this hand to mouth existents. 

But I am not going to bummer very one else out.  So I am glad I am finally living my life as me.

BTW jenny you look great in your avatar. i didnt recognize it was you but you look glowing. i wish i looked that natural without makeup.

Great idea for a thread! Here is my turn:

I love my SO. I love that for some reason, he loves me.  ;D

I love my dogs. Even if they bother me all day long about being bored cause it's too cold to do anything fun.

I love my job and my career. I would feel fortunate to *have* a secure job in this economic climate. The fact that I genuinely like what I do (and even love parts of it) are a blessing beyond that.

I love having friends who know and like the REAL me. (Or friends who can at least convincingly pretend they like me -haha).

I like that I continue to learn new things and develop new skills every year. Life would be boring if I wasn't growing.

I love being good at sports and being active. When I can play hockey or go snowboarding or do something else athletic, it's like nothing else exists in the world.

I like knowing that I have the strength to make it through whatever gets thrown my way.

And for the trans specific things:

I like my health care providers. I don't view my therapist, endocrinologist or surgeon-to-be as 'gatekeepers' - they have all been extremely helpful, respectful and bring a level of expertise to my transition that I wouldn't have had alone.

I like that I've been able to overcome my fear of needles to self-inject. It shows me that if you want something and focus, you can conquer fears and realize there wasn't any reason to be worried.

I like my new drivers license, and I can't wait to get carded with the right name and the right sex marker.

I completely agree!!  Over the last year or so I have felt compelled to say to Patty, "I just love my life" every couple days. I say those exact words. Before transition I would have not said anything of the sort. Sure transition is a rocky road at times, but I now know what it is to be truly happy.  This happiness extends well past my life. Because I have found happiness I can't help but to spread to the people around me.

    There is a huge difference between "living life" and "loving life"  Since transition, I can truly say I love my life !!!

  Hugs, Roxy

I suppose I have been guilty for some of the doom-and-gloom posts, but there is a reason I soldier on. For the first time I am living an authentic life free of inhibitions and restrictions and, although I have lost a lot, being able to be the real me is priceless. I wished I could have transitioned in my teens, but I am not old and have quite a bit of life to live as me. I got to be a father and do the whole suburban dad thing with all the joys that brought. I will now live the life of a single woman and hopefully find somebody and then live the life of a married woman. That is the great gift of transition that very few humans get to experience. I will be able to see life from both sides. I was once the groom standing at the front of the church and one day I will be the bride walking down the aisle. I do not want to forget what it was like to be him for it would mute this gift.

It seems I am fairly passable without too much effort and people tell me I am "cute." I've just started to step out into the world as Melody and the world doesn't seem to mind. I am happier and more outgoing and eager to live and experience new things than I was before. I believe that yesterday with the finalization of my divorce was the ending of my old life. Today is the beginning of the new one. A good friend of mine texted me the following yesterday, "Feel as sad as you need to for a while...then prepare for the best days of your life." Finally, yesterday I noticed that many of the friends of my old life, except for the very best ones, seemed to fall by the wayside. I will leave them behind. However, many, many of you stepped up to provide me sympathy and comfort. It meant a lot to me and is something I will never forgot. I have never met any of you, but I feel closer to you than to some people I saw week after week at church, school activities, baseball/football practices and dinner parties. Fair weather friends they were. I hope to meet you all someday and thank you.

I suffer a bit of depression for whatever reasons and that can make life a little tough, but, the rest of the time is great.

I like my job, I love my friends, I was walking down the street and the warm wind was blowing on my legs, thinking how nice it felt. I was getting looked at and liking it.

I'm increasingly content, life hasn't been a bed of roses but it hasn't been a bed of thorns either. I feel I'm a very lucky woman.

Cindy

Although I am 4 months or so into my transition and I'm not full-time yet...I CAN say it's been pretty good for me too.  I have told just about all my friends and family and they have been nothing but supportive!  And I too am one of the lucky that was able to share my journey with my wife.  She's been the best! I consider us to be a young couple and now I will have a little baby girl coming so I can't ask for anything more.
It's got it's ups and downs and sometime the HRT can contribute to that, but you have to do your best to understand that maybe you will have a few bumps along the road, you have to keep in mind the destination.   
I gain my positive strength from all the girls on here.

yay positive posts! :)
mine are: I'm glad my mom and aunt are ok with me transitioning.
I'm glad i have my adorable little dog
I'm glad I'm pretty used to driving and am really close to taking a driving test
and for my friends

I've had no negativity really, none at all. It's a scary time for sure and there are lots of uncertains in my life, but for the first time I do think that I can see a future that I actually want. My health is a lot better than I can reasonably expect considering the hammer that I have given my poor neglected body and a lot of people say that I look quite a bit younger than I am ;D and tbh most of the issues that I have about passing can be fixed without to much fuss (mostly my belly, which doesn't really look ultra male and my voice which is a work in progress, hrt is going quite well on the rest)

Also I laugh, a lot. Life can be tough but I think that there are ways to help yourself and you don't have to live in the misery. I have a lot to be thankful for including the lovely people that I have met on here who can often make me smile or have a kind word when I need it most. :)

I love my life!

That hardly comes close to describing the feelings I have.

Prior to my transition, life was a grey drudge, only to be endured.

I never imagined that this much joy could be contained inside a single human being.  Life now has a color I had never seen before.

It is a heady feeling, even now, a feeling I never knew I could experience.  For the first time in my life I feel something I never knew.

I feel *normal*!

Never have I felt as free.

Never has the sun shone as bright.

Never has air smelled as sweet.

-Sandy

I am lovin' my life!

Just had my interviews for Medical School here in the US today and they went awesome :)  Oh yea, and I graduated from College just one month ago... Actually probably one of the best months of my life in terms of academic accomplishments!

Quote from: forallittook on January 25, 2011, 11:56:46 PM
I am lovin' my life!

Just had my interviews for Medical School here in the US today and they went awesome :)  Oh yea, and I graduated from College just one month ago... Actually probably one of the best months of my life in terms of academic accomplishments!

Hey, congrats forallittook!

We're in the midst of a record setting heat wave.  While lot of other people are freezing and shoveling snow I was out in the park riding my bike, bombing down the hills, lounging in the sun up at the lake, and working on my tan while kicking back and having a brew, heading home and sitting in the hot tub.

I need to laugh and when the sun is out
I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good in a special way

Once you get to a certain age, then so much of all that stuff that seemed so important becomes so trivial.  And you stop taking for granted things like riding and a good hot tub become such perfect luxuries.  Every sunny day when I can get out and ride, or walk, or just kick back on the deck with a cup of coffee is a reason to love life.  And when I'm not doing that, well Interpol will be kinda sucky, but that's followed by Motorhead and two nights of Social Distortion, got moe. on Thursday, and a private event on Friday, so I know I'm very blessed to have work I like and hell, just to have any job anymore. 

Great, great topic, Jen!

Honestly, life is awesome overall!  Love it!  Going through a second adolescence and am totally blissing out on it!

See my avatar pic?  That's from Thanksgiving Day of 2010.  At that point, I had only been on full-dose estrogen and full-dose spironolactone for only 4 months.  Before that, I was only on low-dose estrogen.  Now, 25 January 2011, I'm 6 months into full-tilt HRT and changes are happening fast!  I'm significantly more feminized now that in the avatar pic.  Breasts are coming in nicely.  Figure is shaping up well.  Happy as heck all around.  Finally being my real self and loving it immensely.

Many of you will eventually go full stealth after SRS/GRS, leave this forum and just blend into society and live your lives, and that's awesome.  Me?  I believe I'm going to go fully public about being transsexual and do LBGT Community awareness. 

Most of you will have friends, will find or have a significant other, will lead normal and happy lives.  That ain't gonna happen for me.  Never has.  Never will.  Lose what?  Why not go way out there and turn on the public to transsexuality?  Got the way with words.  Got the intellectual firepower.  Got the maverick's heart.  Yeah, I'm gonna do it.

                             "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."
                                                           ---   Kris Kristofferson
                                                           Me and Bobby McGee

Ever seen THIS version of the song?  Rocker chicks unite!  I MISS JANIS JOPLIN !!!

WR G&G 14 Melissa Etheridge - Me and Bobby McGee (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvC5JtTUFDU#)
These gals are ALL awesome, but I've always had the hots for Amy Grant ... sigh.    ::)

Yeah, THAT'S what I'm gonna do.  First, I'll make good on a few favors I owe and promises I've made to some people on this forum.  Then, way out there I go to get in the public's face.  I'm planning it even now.  Once I'm in action mode (soon), I'll be evaporating away from this forum but will lurk occasionally.

You people are so cool!  Keep the faith!  Love and miss you all!

Peace & Happiness to You

:D   Lacey Lynne

I love that I can see myself with a future.
I love my family and the fact that we're very close.
I love that it looks like I'll be dancing all weekend in Albuquerque pretty much for free.
I love my friends for booking up my free time and keeping me from taking myself too seriously.
I love my lil' triop buddy for surviving to become an adult.
I love that I'll get to sleep with my cat again this weekend.  (I'm her personal heater when I visit my parents.)
I love my classes semester.
I love that I'm graduating.
I love that my therapist said "You definitely seem to see yourself as male" to me today.
I love my roommates for cleaning the kitchen.
I love finally associating my body and reflection with me.
I love that the weather has been, for the most part, absolutely beautiful.
I love that I am becoming a good lead with salsa.
I love my fruit basket for being full.  (Nope, that's not a metaphor.  I just really love fruit.)
I love knowing why I've always felt like I was acting and mimicking the people around me and realizing that I don't have to.
I love that I now feel like I show genuine happiness instead of the "meh" covered in a bubbly mask.
I love my life.

Let's see...
- I've had tons of greats sex as both genders
- I'm engaged to be married to an incredibly hot, compassionate, successful guy who is also a certified genius
- I have a brilliant, successful and lucrative career that only keeps getting better
- I'm ->-bleeped-<-ing hot, have an ass to die for and am a natural beauty
- I've been blessed with great wit and intelligence
- I'm a very talented artist
- We're about to buy our first house
- My breasts are growing fine naturally and I don't need/want implants
- SRS is done and dusted with a minimum of fuss and pain
- I've never had any co-morbid psychological issues such as depression
- I've never been suicidal or attempted suicide
- While my parents have abandoned me, I have an amazingly loving and supportive mother in law to replace them
- I'm no longer addicted to cigarettes or alcohol
- I know who my real friends are
- I have never compromised who I am or my principles in order to get these things and to complete my transition.
- I know who I am

Some positive things...my family hasn't cut ties with me.  One of my sisters has been really accepting.  One of my aunts, who I thought might take it badly, didn't; she just told me she hoped I had others to talk to who'd been through transition so I didn't have to go it alone and had support.  Even though my mom's in denial about it and says she doesn't support me transitioning, she says she still loves me and we still talk and visit occasionally.

I've met a lot of great people too, mostly online, but some in real life too.

It feels great when I'm seen as a guy; that heady, joyous rush when I get called "sir", there's not much in the world that can compare to that.  Looking in the mirror and seeing the flat chest I've always wanted (even if right now I have to use a binder to get it).  It feels great to not have to hide this side of me anymore.

-I love not needing FFS.
-I definitely like how I'm finally starting a job in my field and that I'll be able to afford the last big surgery. 
-I love not  being suicidal anymore; cavalier about my life maybe but definitely not suicidal.
-I love my family and friends.  They've all been so supportive when they could have been absolute schmucks about it. 
-I love how no one believes me when I tell them about my past.
-I love being myself.

The best part of trans life I have discovered is who my real friends are, and that they are few.

I love happy stories :)
My girlfriend loves and accepts me, even after I came out to her as trans. She is always telling me how much she loves me and how her feelings have not changed at all.

But most importantly, I finally feel confident. Everything just feels right. I'm feeling like I'm passing pretty well too.  ;D

You know what? My life HAS been hard, but what does not kill us makes us stronger!

I lost my family for the most part, but gained a new one - girlfriend, son, mom in law, bro in law - all accepting. All love me...Dominick!

I got hurt falling out of my wheelchair and was bed ridden on and off for four years, but I fought back against the pain. I am now back in college pursuing my dreams of being a filmmaker in a competitive motion pictures department! It was hard, but I did it and I love it!

I have been oppressed for being a person with a disability, for being smart, for being fat, for being transgendered. Yet, I now help others. It has made me a passionate activist for those in the GLBT and disability communities! I am grateful that I can help others, based on my own experiences and knowledge in dealing with oppression.

I have found people who love me for me and every day that makes my struggle to get up, in pain, out of bed easier. I love being honest. I love being accepted as Dominick. I love my nephew who never knew me as anything but his uncle Dommy-vomit (as he affectionately calls me!) showing love and acceptance only a child can show - accepting me because he truly sees who I am!

I love teaching my own son about compassion and acceptance and recall fondly the early days of my transition when he would correct his Nana (who would slip and call me she by accident). He would scold her gently and explain Dom is a boy, Nana! That kid is my biggest advocate. How many kids are like that?

Yes, this can be such a hard path, but finally accepting yourself and finding others who accept you is so rewarding!! Having people who love you and are on this journey with you, supporting you makes the ride all the better!

Good On You BigDEvs,

My wife is in a chair and I know how tough it can be, people ignore you or talk down to you or whatever. But we are all humans on the same path. Why the H**L people can't accept differences as something to be enjoyed and explored rather than something to be despised I will never know.

Oh by the way.

I forgot to post a welcome in your intro.

Welcome; I'm Cindy and live in Adelaide South Australia.

/me reads OP

/me withdraws from thread quietly

Quote from: Tammy Hope on February 02, 2011, 02:25:03 AM
/me reads OP

/me withdraws from thread quietly

You have lots of people who love you Tammy. No reason to withdraw.

Love and a million kisses

Cindy

The first 24 years of my life were pure hell, fighting through all the ignorance in the 1960's and 70's and transition/SRS cost me everything but I won my freedom.

Life (since then) has been absolutely incredible! I "found myself" with starting over. Life was as easy and natural as falling off a log and I had an awfully good time as a young single gal! For a dumb blond with a high school education, my career really took off a few years after transition, I dated a LOT, married (twice), and it has been a hell of a ride! LOL! In my 37 years in this life I have been astounded how often GG's have said they admire me ... how little they know!  ;) ... and I never thought I would go this far in life.

When I look back at my early years I just can't believe how far I have come and the kind of person I became. I am very proud of myself!  ;D

The only thing I "lost" when I transitioned was being a fraud. 

23 years later.  Do I love my life?  Damn right I do.

I love my life.  I love my daugher.  I love my husband.

Benefits are few and far between I'd give almost anything to just wake up Cis tomorrow

On the plus side my relationship with my dad isn't as poor as it once was when I was male... I think my dad saw it as an opportunity to try and be a parent properly. Things aren't close but less estranged.

I guess some of the funny absurd stories I experience are a small benefit. They are so bizarre I mentioned the one where my mother assumed I was sneaking girls in the house at night.

Todays funny story was I was in the toilet (Female) about to leave and then the door flies open and this big male burly builder walks halfway in goes completely red in the face and exclaims loudly.

"OH GOD WRONG TOILET!!" *runs away*

I'm just left there like "o_o' huh?"
Umm I guess I passed...

Pebbles,

Thanks for the smile.

LordKAT, your avatar is busting me up. WIN!

What I love now about life is being able to see it from both sides of the gender playground. That's something not a lot of people can't say. I used to hate being in the middle or male and people treating me as female. But now I see the uniqueness of it.

And though I'm not "transitioning" into anything else, I've found a way to be myself and have confidence in myself.

well i have had a fairly easy life bein trans compared to many other people but i do have some days were i absolutely hate being trans. and then i remember all the people at susans who are supporting me (even if they dont know me), and how many other trans people there are out ther!  ;D
i am also grateful that i started out so young cuz im only 12 and im already on hormone blockers.
i am grateful that most of my family has accepted me
i do admit i would be sooooooooooo happy if somehow i became a CIS man
i am grateful that i can go into high skool as a boy soon.

I have to say my life has been a breeze, even though I did lose certain family members and friends along the way. I transitioned in my 20's. I planned a suitable well paid career in IT and studied at college for the day when an opportunity arose, which it did one year in (lucky or what !!). My colleagues both male and female at work where I transitioned were brilliant and supportive and knew even before they were told by management. It was so easy. Had SRS and even that was a breeze. I had no pain whatsoever, even the surgeon was surprised. I was floating on air. My voice naturally developed without trying too hard and I don't even have to think about it anymore
Passing was easy, so I decided to move away and live in stealth, which is where I am now. My career is great, I've been promoted twice and am now IT Manager for a well known US company. I travel the world, and no one knows about my past which is just the way I like it.
I'm really proud of how it's all turned out. I still have a good head of long hair, still have my hour glass figure and look much younger than my actual age, I have nothing to moan about. My Mum and Dad love me as does my long term partner. So yes I'm an extremely happy woman and thanks for the opportunity to say so. 

Today went perfectly.

I got an appointment with a psychiatrist for hormone assessment and I went to my consult for my first tattoo.  And everyone at the tattoo parlor was extremely nice.  The artist even complimented my huge orange jacket.

Anything prior to 18 months ago is a vague blurry memory for the most part, with a few pleasant high points, but since finding my real identity life has been pretty good. 
My immediate family are supportive, except for my daughter who can go months without contact anyway, and I am in good shape job and financially speaking.
I have an endo appointment in early April, and have finished laser facial hair removal.  I have managed to take off a couple of kilos so the fat should re-distribute nicely once I start hormones, and I have found a great fringe-and-sides hairpiece that fools even hairdressers.
I have found supportive therapists who are helpful in exploring what it means to be a woman. I have found a supportive,friendly and helpful group here too. Thanks for the phone contact too Cindy. :-*

And, allowing a little bithcraft  moment, I am going to look hotter than my ex!

Yeah I hear you. As much of the pain I've gone through.....Life is so much better now. So amazing! I sometimes can't believe it. =)

Nice thread:

What transition means:
Possible Loss of friends
Possible Loss of family
Possible Loss of Career
Possible Loss of LIFE
Medications for the rest of your life
Surgery
Financial Strain
Social Stresses with people you deal with
Depression
Uncertain results

Only Certain Result of Transitioning if done right:
Inner peace

What happened when i transitioned:
Doubled by friends, and got engaged O.O
Temporary lost my dad, but gained him back eventually when slowly the family got used to me
Career Stabilized and with it finances, SRS around the corner
Still alive and kicking.
Still Medications for the rest of life
All previous social stresses disappeared completely
Depression still comes back now and then but longer on HRT the less depressed i am
Worked incredibly hard for 2 years on my body and improved those uncertain results to passable results.
Gained an understanding of the beauty in life and living.

Now that being said, those aren't the benefits of transition, they are the benefits of being at peace with who you are.  Before transition, its you vs yourself and the world, after, its just you vs the world.  Thats a whole lot less stressful. 

Hope everyone's transition goes well.

I have been a loooong time on this side of the fence, 37 years this spring, and my life has been one hundred times MORE that I  had ever imagined but ...

On Sunday I was bored so I went to hang out with my boyfriend in his studio (he is an artist) to help out (a bit) and to be a pest (a bit)  ;) After lunch we were just talking quietly and he was sitting on a stool so I walked up, put my arms around his neck and rested my head against his as he nestled into my bosom and put his arms around my waist. It was so quiet, comfortable, and warm we nearly fell asleep, a perfect fit, and all I could think of was "It doesn't get any better than this!"  ;D

not got much to share here yet, but ill take the little things i can XD
i love that i understand some of my past better now
i love that at my ftm friends house i was accepted as a girl, that day just make me feel womnderful XD

What a very positive thread, I love my life now, 26years post op, all the surgeries Iv had, have all been successful, my SRS, FFS etc. It just gets better, Im now married to a wonderful guy who is attracted to me and excepts me as a woman, he is a gentleman who spoils me like a girl and treats me like a lady, I love to please and satisfy Him as a woman, Iv never before felt so happy, living my new life now as a housewife, I love my Husband, I love my life just being the woman I am now.
Pauline

I just got told that I pass 100%! Thank you!

:icon_woowoo:
I LOVE MY LIFE !!!!!!I AM 1 MONTH POST AND I CANNOT BEGIN TO TELL YOU WITH ALL THE DIALATING AND CLEAN UP ,A TEENAGE DAUGHTER ,(WITH MEGA TUDE LOL LOL,OOOOOH AND 2 SCHOLARSHIPS :"))))))))) ,MOMMY IS PROUD !!OF YOU BABY  ) BEING A SINGLE MOM ,HAVING TO WALK THE DOG ,GO FOOD SHOPPING,OTHODONTHIS,DENTIST,GYN,WEEKLY DOCTORS APPT.FOR MY DAUGHTER , GO TO PARENT TEACHER NIGHT WHEWWWW DID I MISS ANYTHING LOL LOL OH YEAH I LOOOOOOVEEEEEEE MY LIFE !!!!!!! XOXOXXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXO

I love that a lady sir'd me today after I had an entire conversation with her.  I wasn't even focused on my voice.  :)

Quote from: Lee on March 15, 2011, 09:02:48 PM
I love that a lady sir'd me today after I had an entire conversation with her.  I wasn't even focused on my voice.  :)

I had the same thing happen to me. I was in class and talking to the lady that sits next to me. I was almost sure that everybody knew about me but when she called me "he" it was literally the best moment of the day. Its the little things :!

i love that ovr march break i get to b a guy for almost 2 weeks
i also love that ovr the summer i get to b a guy for a month!!

i love feeling alive! and feeling hopeful.  it means more when there's normally so much pain and confusion since the difference is exaggerated.

and... i love organic vodka.  :icon_drunk:  and i really really love my boyfriend and his dog! 

seriously, i complain about our relationship since he's straight and i'm ftm, and it likely won't work out.  but really, it's difficult for him too, and he shows me that he loves me still all the time.  my female friends jokingly tease that they're jealous 'cause he's so awesome. and they should be  >:-)

I have to say coming out has been the best decision I've made in my 20 years of life. I'm sure there will be many more decisions I make in the future that will bring even better results, but this is the decision that will guide me to the day those future decisions are made. This is me, breaking away from the shell I've been hiding inside, and finally being who I really am.

As a preteen and teenage "girl" I cut. I burned. I hardly spoke, and I hated living. I was severely depressed, contemplated suicide very often. Even this past summer, I was severely depressed, it was the worst it had ever gotten.

I came out with the -possibility- that I might be transgendered in August. I'd always kind of thought about it, but the idea terrified me and I shut the voice up. From August through December, I noticed a very uplifting change. My depression was gone. I was happy.

After Christmas, I told my roommates and my girlfriend that I'm coming out as a transman. The thought was still terrifying, but not because I was ashamed. Since I made that decision, and since I've started living full-time as male, my morale has sky-rocketed. I'm not just happy. I'm not just content. I feel like a better person, I feel I can accomplish my goals, I respond to other people, even strangers in a way I never could have before. I'm generous, I'm happy to lend a hand to complete strangers, I'm extremely confident in myself. Life is far better than I can even explain. Feeling this good is completely new to me. And I can only say that it's because I'm not afraid of myself anymore.

Yes, I've had a few minor, negative experience. I KNOW I will have more. But I'm not afraid. Life is not meant to be easy, whether your transgendered, gay, cisgendered, black, white, Christian, Canadian, British, young or old. We all fall in life. It sucks, it hurts, but you get up on your feet, laugh it off and keep going.

I wouldn't have my life any other way than being a transgendered man.

I love my life too!

me too  :)

i love being able to imagine my future for the first time!

This thread is wooooonderful and oh-so-heartwarming. :D I clicked it and didn't leave my laptop until I had read every single reply.

I'm pre-surgery and hormones, but I'm so immensely in love with my life at the moment, and for all the hassles of being stuck in the wrong body, I still often feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world. Allow me to rant for a moment about things I like:

- The amazing absence of intolerance among people in my city. Save for once being laughed at by a couple of kids who didn't know any better, and being asked by a genuinely curious waiter at a restaurant why I was wearing a dress (his response on hearing I was transgendered was 'good for you!' :D), I have never had a bad reaction from strangers anywhere for wearing women's clothes. Perhaps I'm just lucky enough to not look especially masculine, but I don't even really get stares. And even had I received bad reactions, I've also received some really good ones. I've been taken as a woman a couple of times despite not really trying, I sometimes get 'Miss', 'Dear' or 'Sweetie' from smiling store clerks despite making no effort yet to disguise my male voice, and when I was buying my first female clothes, the girls at the counter didn't bat an eyelid, and simply chatted cheerily to me about how what I had picked out was really cute. Having read scary stories about the intolerance faced by transgender girls and boys all around the world, the last five or six months have raised my respect for my hometown tenfold. :D

- Being dealt a relatively good hand biologically. I'm tall, but not too tall to be female. My feet aren't small, but they're small enough that every female shoe rack has shoes in my size. My facial features and frame have always been relatively androgynous, I have very little in the way of body hair, and my voice isn't very deep, with my singing voice within quite a natural female range. And my limbs are already very feminine, with long shapely fingers and legs that some of my female friends seem to be jealous of. XD Of course there are things about myself that I'm not satisfied with, but I know I'm still relatively lucky as far as people in my position go. I was never handsome as a boy and it's unlikely I'll be an especially pretty girl, but I think it's only the pretty part that will elude me, and I should hopefully pass fine as a girl in time. Which is all I really want anyway. I can take looking like a socially maladjusted shut-in as long as it's a socially maladjusted female shut-in. :D

- The total acceptance of my friends and family. I've yet to get a bad reaction from anyone close to me. It was enough of a shock to my family that we didn't talk a whole lot for a number of days, which was completely understandable, but they were supportive, if distant, from the off, and as the dust has settled things have gradually gone back to just the way they were, except now my name is Elly and I'm 'she', a daughter, and a sister. :) And for those who haven't had to deal with adjusting to the idea of someone they saw growing up as a boy now being a girl? Everyone's been amazing. People in my university classes who I have hardly spoken to before have sent me messages on Facebook telling me they really admire me, that they think I'll be a beautiful girl, and that they'd like to help in any way they can. My friends threw a big coming out party for me, and a whole bunch of people I barely knew turned up and brought me flowers, presents, and words of support. Both my tutors and the university administration have rallied behind me: I get to be Elly every day in class now, and one of my tutors bought me a handbag as a coming out present, and regularly tells me how pretty I'm looking on any given day. XD People tell me I'm strong, and inspiring, and all sorts of other things, but beyond the stress of actually opening my mouth and getting the initial words out, coming out as a girl simply hasn't been difficult for me because everyone has been so wonderful. As far as I can see it's the people around me who are amazing and inspiring. :D

- The NHS. I've rarely been very nationalistic, but since deciding to transition I've realised how incredibly proud I am of my country's health service. Sure I've had to wait three months on a waiting list for a gender clinic, but my SRS is free, my counseling is free, my hormones only cost pocket change compared to what people from other countries pay... When I read about people abroad having to spend sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be who they are, I can't help but feel amazingly lucky to have been born where I have.

- How easy it was to change my name and title. I drew up a deed poll, got a friend and a tutor to sign it, and that was that. At first it seemed so easy that I was convinced it couldn't be a legally binding document, but then I took it to the bank, to my doctor's, to the university... I'm Eleanor now on everything save my birth certificate, and changing that would be just as easy - I'm just waiting until my gender is officially changed too, as it costs a bit of money, and it's not something important to change until I graduate and start searching for work anyway.

- Being able to do clothes shopping that isn't horribly depressing. Clothes shopping for me used to entail staring wistfully at the women's section for a long time before picking anything out of the men's section that was suitably cheap and the right size, and leaving the shop thoroughly upset. Of course I don't quite have the figure yet for some of the stuff I want to wear, but that will come in time, and I already have a closet full of stuff that's really cute! :D It's exciting to wake up in the morning and actually care about what I'm going to wear. Of course this has the adverse effect of life suddenly costing a whole lot more. And some of the stuff I wear probably looks a little bit ridiculous. But when I'm having to drag myself away from the mirror because I'm smiling and posing too much, I have trouble caring. XD I guess clothes are a comparatively small thing, but it's exciting suddenly feeling something about the way I look that isn't abject hate.

- The knowledge that very few of the things I dislike about myself now are going to be around for long. I think for the first time in my life I love my penis, my facial hair and all the rest because everytime I look at them I think 'Hah! I win! Enjoy what time you have left, because you won't be here for long!', and my heart swells. :D Before, being in a man's body used to depress me. Now it's exciting because I know there will come a time when I can wake up and realise that I'm not, and that with every passing day that I feel a little more like a girl, that time edges closer. ^^

- Gradually coming to terms with the idea that someday I might fall in love with someone. I've never had much of an interest in sex or romance, and at twenty-five I've never been in nor desired a relationship or sex. I think I must have a relatively low sex drive, as it isn't really something you can just turn off at will even if it conflicts with your gender identity, but as I said to my doctor, I can't believe that my feelings about gender didn't play at least some part. And while I know that so long as I'm physically a man my feelings aren't going to change, I can't count out the possibility that when my physical and mental genders match and my hormones are the way they ought to be, I might suddenly start feeling things for people that go beyond friendship. This one is kind of a double-edged sword because it's also so terrifying. XD I don't know how to carry myself in a relationship. I don't even know if I like girls or boys. :'D And the idea of losing my virginity as a girl is still frightening even if it's not repulsive like the idea of having sex as a boy. Buuuuut...sex and romance are such a huge part of life for lots of people, and I can't say I'm not curious. Of course I'd be happy enough to transition and realise that I just want to go on being the way I have been 'til now too. :) I've just resolved to keep an open mind and see what happens.

- Being amazingly happy, and having hardly the slightest worry on my mind. I spent most of my teenage years trying to be a boy I simply wasn't, and it drove me to the brink of suicide. After leaving school I met wonderful friends and tutors who simply let me be myself and put no pressure on me to act my biological gender, which helped a lot, but whatever happiness I had then was happiness punctuated by hundreds of moments where something around me would remind me of my gender dysphoria, and I'd feel awful again. Now everything is out in the open, and I don't think I've been really upset in months. I actually came off my antidepressants, and I'm still happier than I've ever been. I know we're encouraged not to view transition as a fix-all to everything that's wrong in our lives, but in my case...I can't help but feel like it is. :D I'm really quite a cheerful person. I love my life, I love my friends, family and tutors, and there are enough things that I love about myself now that living with me isn't such an unattractive prospect anymore. :D Even before deciding to go through with transition I was nowhere near the depression I went through during high school, and honestly, not being a girl on the outside was often the only thing that stopped me from bouncing off the walls like a Teletubby on Prozac. Now that I know that in time I will be, I actually find it hard to stop smiling. Like seriously, it's painful. I feel like The Joker. D:

It is nice to read these positive stories! :) I posted mine previously so I'll just quote it here-

Quote from: FairyGirl on September 17, 2010, 09:46:06 AMThis Little Light of Mine

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ichloe.com%2Fimages%2Fshine.gif&hash=624cc6ca7c5dfce5587deffcf2547d4bc02ef4f4)I just have to say I love my new body! Who could have foreseen what a difference it has made? Sitting at my desk, or lying on the sofa watching TV, when I'm going to sleep at night, or when I wake up in the morning... it feels so indescribably wonderful, and I can only expect it's going to get better. I'm so happy with the way it feels now, as time goes by and I settle into my corrected anatomy- no longer wrong-side out girl, but right-side out at last.

I know I absolutely did the right thing, and you could not pay me back three times or a hundred times what I spent on this surgery to go back and have to live the way I was before. In fact there is nothing that would make me want to go back, and the really great thing about it is that now I never have to. This has been for me a second chance at life- a truly happy life filled with a deep down peace and rightness of being I was previously unable to know, and never could have possibly known until I had taken this step. In the days leading up to my surgery I was naturally hoping for the best outcome, but I really didn't comprehend how nice it would be afterward, nor imagine the simple joy for being alive it would bring. It just feels so good to be finally whole and complete in my own body.

Surgery is a drastic measure by any standards, and not for everyone. For some of us though there really is no other alternative, nothing inherently better or noble or brave about pretending to have a life while so afflicted with such a debilitating condition, no matter what some others might say. Yes, life goes on and still has its troubles, but for me the lifelong ravages and struggles of gender dysphoria, and the incongruence of being in exactly the wrong body are no longer among them. That conflict is over, and I won. Gender confirmation surgery was just what I needed; it cured my body and my soul, and transformed my life into something worth living. For me it was not a bad trade then, to give up something I couldn't keep in order to gain something I can never lose.

We hear so many negative things; sometimes it's nice to hear that it can all be worth it. I was withering and slowly dying inside, and now life is full of promise and new hope. Like the metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly, this journey within and without has been nothing short of miraculous. ♥

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ichloe.com%2Fimages%2Fstarshine.gif&hash=09096bddd223ab6ea4273e1e0fd7ba5cc056a2be)

ok scratch both of my posts heres the truth:
i do NOT love my life. i love certain aspects of it but not my actual life.

I do love my life. The one I had before was...all sorts of grey shades. 

Now it's all the colours of the rainbow.

Today was coloured- "On a beautiful day, ride the motorcycle down to Ballarat where I had a chicken indigestiburger at the Golden Boobs, and rode back through the countryside , stopping at Daylesford Botanic Gardens where I walked around looking at Really Big Trees and lots of unknown flowers, before riding the long way home. "
Karen.

This is a wonderful thread - thank you for posting Jenny! I love my life too - maybe where we live has a big impact on that :)

I love my life.

Sure there are hardships, moments of depression, struggles with finances, insecurities and the constant question of, "Do I look ok?"

But as time moves forward and I look back over each and every step I find myself laughing because these things are what make me a girl, heck they are what make me a person!

I've had my share of hardships through my ordeal. But truthfully they all started years back when I was trying to be something I wasn't.

There are always moments when times get hard, when I want to cry about the injustices of life and HATE the fact that I was born with a males anatomy, but every day That part of my life moves further away, and I find myself excited and hopeful for tomorrow!

My list!

Since starting and coming out:
-I've lost every fake friend and replaced them with at least 2 real friends who are there for me and supportive.
-I've danced all night at the clubs with straight guys and been treated like a hottie from them!
-I've kissed a boy!(Several in fact!)
-I get called mam, hun, honey, sweetie, darlin and many other cute names from guys of all ages on my worst days!
-I can breath
-I've been asked out while at work by different guys!
-I've been hit on, in the same night, by a straight guy,  girl, lesbian and gay guy within a 2 hour span!(Which still makes my friends laugh who got to witness)
-I've started living the life I use to dream about

There are a ton more I could add but let's just suffice it to say..

-I smile now

This is such a great thread, it needs more posts! :D

I don't have much to tell but I'm really happy at the moment about how mom's been acting since I told her I think I'm transsexual. I don't really have any money at the moment and she's buying me my first proper make up things and some clothes! Somehow I actually think telling her has brought us closer! :)

I love my life, it isn't perfect and I have problems with shyness and anxiety but I am happy with my life since transition. Transition has been really easy for me, sure it was a little slow because I couldn't afford to go private but it's coming up 2 years since accepting myself and coming out and i've been on T for 8 months and had top surgery last monday. ;D I have a really accepting family, while in my hospital room recovering from my surgery I was surrounded by congratulations cards from my family.  :)

The only negatives because of transition are the loss of my dad and aunt.

My life has been pretty good. My transition was pretty easy and now I'm a lot more comfortable with myself and others. I feel like I can be more honest about myself now.

:]

I can't bring to mind exciting or interesting anecdotes to pepper the thread with, but I will say that life is overall pretty good.

Tonight will be family, food, and salsa dancing.  Tomorrow is friends, music, and blues dancing.  Life's good.

sitting in front of the air conditioner, got to chat with someone tonight who thinks of me as just another gay guy when he told me that i was so happy! ;D and now I'm looking forward to sleeping in my cozy bed. life is good. at least SOMEONE out there knows me as just another guy.

I'm not gonna moan and groan here, but my opinion is that the less dysphoria someone has (as we all know, we experience different levels of dysphoria), the happier they are. Someone could have a perfectly accepting family and workplace, everything, yet still be in "hell" cause of their dysphoria, which in my opinion is the worse part.

Anyone have input on this?

Quote from: zombiesarepeaceful on June 01, 2011, 11:47:22 AM
I'm not gonna moan and groan here, but my opinion is that the less dysphoria someone has (as we all know, we experience different levels of dysphoria), the happier they are. Someone could have a perfectly accepting family and workplace, everything, yet still be in "hell" cause of their dysphoria, which in my opinion is the worse part.

Anyone have input on this?

Perhaps so. But perhaps it is the opposite. Perhaps the happier someone is, the less dysphoria they have. Those who are able to focus on the things they enjoy or maintain a state of happiness are not overwhelmed with dysphoria, because the "positives" crowd out room for worrying about the "negatives."

You could say that anyone who experiences dsyporia can not BE happy. I would say someone who is happy independent of the dysphoria will not experience crippling dysphoria, even if they are dysphoric and do experience discomfort from the lack of congruity between body and mind/spirit.

Dysphoria is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself. Imagine two people fighting off a different medical condition that makes them both feel lousy and manifests with the same symptoms and pain - it could be a virus, a headache, an injured arm, etc. Often, the person who is experiencing something happy and positive at the same time they are coping with illness or injury will feel less bad from the same condition as someone who also is enduring a stressful situation at the same time.

I hated my life completely until I decided to transition. Now I bless every day I have and work hard to stay healthy. I do sorta miss eating like a guy, but now I'd rather be slim then have that extra chicken strip xD.

Quote from: Cirnobyl on June 01, 2011, 04:48:19 PM
I hated my life completely until I decided to transition. Now I bless every day I have and work hard to stay healthy. I do sorta miss eating like a guy, but now I'd rather be slim then have that extra chicken strip xD.

You do look beautiful, if that is indeed you in your avatar. I'd never guess anything.

Aw thanks yes that is me. What you don't see is my 40% bald head thanks to the hat. Well its not really bald anymore, its really growing back thanks to the E. Something else to be happy about ^^.

Tonight: Susan's forum to have a bitch fest, 4 roses, my daughters to watch a chick flick, no work tomorrow...Life is good!

Sabbath Shalom

Kate D

A couple of weeks ago I had my first IPL session, and today I was washing my face and noticed some of my facial hair falling out! :D I'm not naive enough to believe that it's permanent after one session and that I won't have any regrowth, but seeing such a powerfully masculine feature simply falling away from me is too wonderful to even put into words.

Yes, Eleanor, it is permanent.  I used IPL for my beard removal and the results were dramatic.

And permanent.

While it can only kill hairs in the growth phase, those that are, are now gone.  I had IPL about 5 years ago and it has been very good.  As you go through additional sessions more will be toasted.

My caveat.  I had quite a bit of "salt" in the pepper and had to follow up with some considerable electrolysis.  But I was given quite a boost in clearing through IPL.

-Sandy

My life has been amazing ever since I decided to transition. A couple of months ago I started T :D. I'm also so thankful to have amazing parents who are so supportive. I am still young and still live with them and they payed for my top surgery, and a couple of days ago my mom told me they'd try to pay for my bottom surgery too once I'm old enough and have been on T long enough to get it.

And I haven't been rejected by any family or anything, only an aunt that lives 6 hours away is having a bit of trouble accepting it.

I absolutely LOVE my life! :)

Quote from: Sandy on June 10, 2011, 11:25:55 PM
Yes, Eleanor, it is permanent.  I used IPL for my beard removal and the results were dramatic.

And permanent.

While it can only kill hairs in the growth phase, those that are, are now gone.  I had IPL about 5 years ago and it has been very good.  As you go through additional sessions more will be toasted.

My caveat.  I had quite a bit of "salt" in the pepper and had to follow up with some considerable electrolysis.  But I was given quite a boost in clearing through IPL.

-Sandy

Really? The lady at my clinic said it might not be permanent, so I didn't want to get my hopes up, but after hearing your story I'm cautiously optimistic. :) Thank you! And yes, I have some lighter hairs that will need to be done with electrolysis myself. My beautician seemed to think the majority of my hair would respond very well to IPL though, so fingers crossed that what I've seen so far continues!

I definitely love this thread. Yeah, I had a few bumps on the road but my transition went pretty well too.

My family still accepts me, they aren't thrilled and most of them think I am crazy for what I did, but I am the baby so all my decisions are crazy.  :P

My co-workers have accepted me completely and I got so many compliments and supportive statements that I was totally overwhelmed. They are such an awesome group of people to work with.

My friends, well let's just I picked them well. Everyone has been very supportive.

My transition itself has been pretty by the book. I had a minor complication with SRS, but nothing permanent. I never thought I would pass at all, but I do surprisingly well for myself.

Quote from: Sean on June 01, 2011, 04:01:47 PM
Perhaps so. But perhaps it is the opposite. Perhaps the happier someone is, the less dysphoria they have. Those who are able to focus on the things they enjoy or maintain a state of happiness are not overwhelmed with dysphoria, because the "positives" crowd out room for worrying about the "negatives."

You could say that anyone who experiences dsyporia can not BE happy. I would say someone who is happy independent of the dysphoria will not experience crippling dysphoria, even if they are dysphoric and do experience discomfort from the lack of congruity between body and mind/spirit.

Dysphoria is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself. Imagine two people fighting off a different medical condition that makes them both feel lousy and manifests with the same symptoms and pain - it could be a virus, a headache, an injured arm, etc. Often, the person who is experiencing something happy and positive at the same time they are coping with illness or injury will feel less bad from the same condition as someone who also is enduring a stressful situation at the same time.

This.

Lots of people on the forum say things like "transitioning is really hard...i'll be glad when it's done" and yes, in one sense this is absolutely correct, I have spent literally thousands in the past year, have had crippling depression at points, been suicidal, been scared to leave the house etc etc etc. If you focus on these kind of things and make them the central theme of your life, then yep, Transition is going to be a very very dark place indeed. The real trick is to realise that there is a lot more to life than your dysphoria and your transition. Do what you need to do to transition, but live your life at the same time as well. You have the complete power to choose your mental attitude. View transition and dysphoria as a struggle and that's what you get, veiw it as a journey...even a bit of an exciting adventure if you want and while it doesn't completely protect you from the dark times, it will mean you can actually go out and enjoy being alive.

Being alive is good...a gift if you prefer, you should just embrace the sheer joy of the fact that you're not dead and can experience the world. Also, everyone here needs to buy a longboard and go skating.

->-bleeped-<- yeah! Skating (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt9eqMxmh-Y#)

This afternoon while going through the checkout there was a child screaming at 400 decibels at the other end of the supermarket. 
The checkout girl said, " obviously a male!"
I said, " I'm a parent, he'll turn into a teenager, kick him now and get your retaliation in first!"
She laughed, and we had a great conversation while she scanned and bagged my croceries.
Then we wished each other a good day as I left.

I think I was actually walking about 6" above th ground on the way back to the car! Total 101% pass.

Yesterday in the cinema watching 'Bridesmaids' the women I was sitting next to accepted me totally too, even when the lights were on before the movie, and also chatting on the way out afterwards.

Karen.

i might love my life or hate it after the first day of school. thats when i come out to my whole grade. im nervous yet excited. i hope i love my life afterwards.

About once a month, I tell the Story for All Ages to the children gathered before me, and the rest of the congregation during Sunday Church Service, in a mostly straight Unitarian Universalist Church, 125 years old, in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs, the home of Focus on the Family, one of the front-line battles for LGBTQ rights.  I have shared from Black Elk Speaks, from my own collection of the best children's books when I was a librarian, personal stories of people I have known, and even stories about episodes in my life.  I have made people laugh and cry at the same story.  I directed two stories that we did as Readers Theatre with several members of the congregation playing roles.  I cannot express my joy at how fulfilling my role in the church has been, and fully I am accepted by so many people, more that accepted, a full member of what our pastor calls "our beloved community".

My live-in girlfriend of over a year now, we have problems and we fight.  But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loves me for who I really am, not who I pretend to be, or because of the role I fill.

I spent the whole last night on Omegle. I was there for so long that I probably cammed with over a hundred people. I "passed" to every single one of them as a girl. I even told a few that I'm not physically a girl yet and they didn't believe me and said that I look so much like a girl. I was so shocked, yet so so so pleased!

Considering I haven't started HRT yet, I now feel confident that I will have no trouble whatsoever passing completely after a while on hormones. So yeah, things are looking really good for me right now and I'm eagerly waiting for my transition to properly begin! :)

I spent the last week interstate looking for a rental property prior to moving and everyone I dealt with was totally accepting.  Because you have to have a stack of ID before you can lease nowadays I had to use my new Birth Certificate as I still have limited documentation.  Whenever I had to point out the name change, nobody batted an eyelid and just treated me as if I had always been Karen.

I spent a full week exploring my new hometown and never once had any second glances.
On the flight home I spent quite a while chatting with the woman in the next seat about the suburb I am moving to, as she knew it well, and it all felt so "normal" it was an absolute pleasure.

Karen.

Though no one really understands, everyone that I've come out to has supported me. My mother gave the classic "why can't you just be a butch lesbian" - which for her, was progressive enough in the beginning considering how homophobic my entire family is. She seems to be more accepting now than she was initially, and I'm super happy. I just found out that my grandmother also accepts  me, and this means a lot to me because now I have my father, brother, mother, grandmother and close friends to support me - and family and friends are everything to me. I wanted their acceptance and their understanding before going into HRT, even though I had been prepared to start without any support.

My fears from the time that I was 16 of being alienated from those that I love the most have completely faded and I'm at a good place in my life. I feel that I pass almost 100 percent of the time when meeting strangers and I'm pre-T, and that's a feeling that goes beyond any imaginative description.

I have been blessed enough to find a therapist who has agreed to write a letter after such a short time, and to have the money to continue my transition. Though I know I'll struggle, ultimately I know that it'll be worth it.

I look at transition as just another part of my journey in this world. I'm combining it with everything else going on right now. I see transitioning as a way to develop my body to an image that I feel suits me better; much in a way that someone overweight would exercise to find the "new them" when really it's who they were the entire time. So I'm just working on my body, working on my grades, and finally working on my friendships and relationships with my family. All of this work is leading to one ultimate goal; my future.

All of the struggles physically and mentally - not just with transition- are so worth the outcome. Everyone who has ever had a dream has worked hard, and I see myself working hard to obtain my dreams. Transitioning is no more and no less than a goal to be the man that I already am in a more outward fashion, and only a small step in the direction of the man I want to become in matters of job title, education, family, and friends.

I am so thankful that others in my life are accepting of this, and that I can finally move forward with bonds strengthened in my family and friend circle, and continue to work towards my future. I'm young, and I'm just happy to be alive, and to share the majesty of the earth with those that I care for.

I feel like I rambled LOL

I love my mother who has been supportive of my transition.
My whole family really, they just want to see me happy.
And I'm starting to smile alot more, I can see how I'm changing into the girl I always wanted to b.
I'm grateful for having one of THE best bestest friends ever. I couldn't ever replace her.

I'm starting to be more positive :)
it's definitely better than being sad and bleh feeling.

Last Friday I attended a send-off dinner for one of the staff at the Lab where I used to work until recently.  I had a great time just being "one of the girls" and was able to let everyone know how great they had made me feel.  I certainly will keep in touch with a great bunch of friends.
I am also settling into my new place in Tasmania, and enjoying setting up house pretty much from scratch. 
My ex and I parted on good terms and wished each other well too.  Life is too short to waste any of it on being angry.

Karen.

My aunt just listed me as her nephew on facebook.
After the past few weeks I've been having, I'm almost sobbing right now, this has made me so happy. It's not shocking, both my aunts are incredibly supportive, but still...the fact that its on FB, where anyone can see it and be all WTF, and she's like "IDGAF"...I'm so happy.

Discovering my identity has probably been the best part of my life so far. It wasn't the things I went through as a kid that made life painful, it was going through life having no idea what I was doing or who I was. I've got the emotional strength to move away from these things as a solid, stable human being.

I've found more friends and become more open, I've found confidence enough to plan out my future and my career (something most of my older friends are still unsure of), and I'm really grateful I didn't finally come out at age 45 or something and have my whole life turn upside down. My future is all still ahead of me and this is all just perfect timing.

I will admit, there's a lot of things that are a huge pain in the ass, like having to deal with namechange stuff and jobs etc (my family issues could never be resolved very well, sadly, but it means being trans isn't going to make things much worse), but there's counselling and resources where I live to help me through all of it.

And best of all, my best friend is trans, and we have each other, and we're taking this head on flailing with laughter and political indignation.

It's like living life as a pencil sketch and moving on to something as rich as an oil painting. It does get better. You just gotta know where to look for things and where to go, and if something really *feels* necessary, then do it with all your might and don't look back.

"It's like living life as a pencil sketch and moving on to something as rich as an oil painting. " 
I lie that, think I'll steal it! ;)

Karen.

I am still a girl in my job. I got introduced to six kids, aged 6-9, with my female name - which is obviously female, not like Jess or something - and female pronouns everwhere.
But I love my life, because I heard the kids (all girls) discussing how "that's a funny name for a boy, i feel bad. he kinda has a girls name." "yeah, i wouldn't like it if i had a boys name." "but he's nice, he helped me get my helmet and boots right."

I'm pre-everything but a haircut. But that made me grin. I'm a boy, and they see it.

Love this!

My parents are awesome. They are the best parents in the world. In addition to paying for my SRS, breast augmentation and hormones (and we are not rich), they supported me emotionally through my transition and I love them. Sometimes I wish my parents could talk to less supportive parents because I think they could help people accept their children. I am so lucky to be their daughter.

Also, I think it's worth saying that before I started dating I had a very fatalistic outlook on dating non-trans people. I never thought I'd meet someone who'd be okay dating me while knowing I'm trans. People I've dated, who I've told that I'm trans: 5...how many reacted negatively: 0

I love my life!

I get laid all the time. Once upon a time I was afraid no one would touch me if they knew I was a freak. But there are people who like to touch me, and in fact my sex life is more creative and interesting than it used to be.

I dropped in to the local GLBTIQ support group to see if I could find some literature to send to my mother who still seems a bit unsure about what I am doing.  I spoke to the woman in the office for a while about coming out both as TS and lesbian, and the opportunities the upcoming Pride festival presents for meeting other women, and think I am actually doing pretty well.

Karen.

I love that I have stopped fighting myself.  I also love that for the first time in my life I can look in a mirror and actually see the woman in me smiling back... haha now I am tearing up :)  I'm such a sap

Hugs
Zaria

I love my mum, shes always there for me. Nuff said.

made a video of doin my longest headstand (yet) shirtless and i look completely manly chested!!!!!!!!  ;D

I'm braver and more articulate than I thought I was. Today my therapist called to inform me that her supervisor told her not to write me a letter, that she's not qualified and also they "don't do that." I was hurt and scared and angry, but I spoke calmly and reminded her that she is qualified. Her supervisor's instructions sounded like reactionary transphobia, and I said so and asked to speak to her directly.

I got a call back a few minutes later saying okay nevermind come in monday and sign an ROI and pick up the letter. ;D

I love my life because I've been broken over and over and I always get up and keep going.

Last night there was a forum on Sexuality and Gender Diversity at the local LGBTIQ support group, and I had a chance to make some new friends and have a great time at dinner with them afterwards.  Including the mother of a MtF transitioner who came for advice on how to be supportive.  I spent quite a while with her and her daughter, who came to the restaurant later.

I have also been invited to attend the Service Provider's retreat similar to the Gender Diversity and Sexuality weekend  I attended recently.  The organisers asked myself and several others if we would like to attend so that the professionals can hear our stories.  I feel that I am starting to become more involved in the support area since relocating. Feels very worthwhile and that perhaps I can make a difference.

I love my life because now i'm starting to be accpeted as a woman instead of a gay guy!  ;D

I have a pretty kyewl boyfriend who makes everything better.
Enough to make me forget about my low amount of friends.. that hardly ever talk to me.

Oh well (:

My entire family, although they don't get the pronouns yet, is accepting.  That includes people I never, ever, in a million years thought would be accepting.  After I started my hormones my grandma, who I have always considered kind of a bigot, gave me a hug and said she was glad things were going well for me.  I have a job where I work as male, and have since before hormones.  I had another job--one where everything is gender-segregated--where I started working there as female, expected not to be hired back after I came out, and was hired back as male by somebody who knew damned well who I was and what I was doing.  My name is legally changed.  My gender is now accurate on my school records, my driver's license, and everything else people actually look at except for my birth certificate (which nobody has looked at in years).

I can't afford surgery, but honestly it's kind of a miracle that I'm on hormones because I don't make much money at all.  So it would be stupid of me to think that I'm going through some major, ridiculous struggle due to being trans.  As far as that goes, I'm doing fine.

My family (who knows about me) is generally accepting. They aren't on board with pronouns yet, but they're trying in their own way.
I have a very small circle of friends who are still here for me.
Transition is moving very slowly, but it is moving. Progress.
I'm finally going to see a psychiatrist for my depression and anxiety. He also has plenty of experience with trans* issues. My dad wants to accompany me to therapy to get educated.
I'm learning how to love myself so I haven't resorted to old, harmful habits for over a week now.

AS far as my transgender life goes (and this is an update to a previous post), ALL my close friends know now and they are sooooo amazing and protective of me as well. My sister and Mom are still getting use to me not being a boy anymore. I completely understand that too. But, I see them trying to understand.  My wife is sooooo incredibly amazing and so for "it" that I cannot tell you how amazing it has been with her. She has endured all my ups and downs emotionally, and unfortunately we have a baby that was born with special needs and despite that, we are doing very well with my transition.
It's taken a while for the HRT to kick in. This was primarily because of scheduling issues I had trying to get to see the doctor. So I was probably 4 month behind ( I needed some help from the finesteride T blocker). Once all the meds were up to par, I started seeing changes and others around me did too.
Then my son from another marriage decided to move in with us and he was so incredibly accepting as well. He is starting to use the pronouns and is becoming quite the advocate for T rights! I cannot tell you how incredible my life is aside from the sadness about my baby.  I am not even part time yet, (due to all the visits to the hospital with the baby ... it's been hard).  My son has even made some really funny jokes about how I "converted" his step mom into a lesbian. LOL  I am also lucky to have such a "babe" (as my son put it the other day) for a wife and with the kindness most amazing heart.

For those "noobs"...keep at it. You'll feel awkward sometimes, especially in the in-between phase but it's worth the wait. Don't rush your journey too much and enjoy the ride. Remember transition is about YOU but it's also about those loved ones around you. Take the time to ride that bridge from one to the other you.

I'm not on here very often anymore, but if you need to vent with me about your journey I am here for you as many were there for me.

As NIKE says "Just DO IT!"

Many Hugs and Love to you my sisters...and brothers!

Stephie

Ive recently decided to transition. All my friends and family now know about me. ive got nothing but support from everyone! So surprised! :)

I love my life because it's mine, and I can change it how I see fit. And it might sound weird, but I love it because I got all the hard parts out of the way early. Got married, had a kid, graduated college and now... whatever's left is all for me (Well, us, haha, but you get the point). At times it makes me feel like there's really not much to look forward to, and that can be a bit of a downer sometimes, but... I have time, and I can fill it with whatever I want to fill it with. If I want to go run a marathon, I can try, because there's nothing holding me back anymore. If I want to climb a mountain, what's to stop me? (Other than thin air -_-) I want to soak up as much experience as I possibly can, and at times, I'm almost glad I started female. I know both sides of the story (or at least I will), and I can say 'I've been /there/, too'. I'm going to try and do everything that life has to offer, because I /can/, and I love every second of it. Given, being trans has it's hard moments, but the feeling of freedom and new-found "ability" is worth its weight in platinum.

I love my life because if I don't then I won't know how to keep going.

I also, love my life :3

I have just hosted a birthday BBQ for a good friend (little sister I never had) as her flat was not an option.  There were nine of us. 
A  straight cis-couple and their two wonderful kids, my lesbian friend whose Birthday it was, and Intersex woman and another transwoman.
We are all totally comfortable with each other and get on like a house on fire. 
The girls, 8 and 11 just accept me as Karen, and understand that sometimes someone is meant to be a girl but something goes wrong and you are born a boy, but see yourself as a girl.
A great day with far too much BBQ, prawns (shrimp) and cake consumed in great company.

Karen.

I'm probably one of the happiest people on this planet.

Being transsexual has been a wonderful gift for me.

when I first thought about transition I was so scared of what others would think, how I'd be ostracised from society etc...  However, when I came out to my family and friends they all gave me their utmost support.  Friends I hadn't seen or heard from since high-school were saying how much they supported me. 

About the most negative reaction I received was someone tell me that they wished I could have had the courage to come out to them sooner.  One of my friends whom I thought would be the most transphobic person went out of her way to make sure everyone knew, was supportive and that I was included in social activities and the like.

My girlfriend was happy when I came out to her (she's always dated women in the past) and has been completely supportive of me.

After 18months on hormones I pass very well, no one has ever hassled me and I can wear all that cute clothing I'd dreamed about for so long.  My fears about not being able to pass because I was 6ft tall, male, large etc.. where completely groundless.

I love my life very much too ♥

Still excited after 9 weeks of going to University, even though I currently feel like I have been run over by  a road roller.  Unlike a fair few others I haven't dropped out, because IT'S FUN!!!  Queer Students on Campus bbq this arvo, so got to meet a few other interesting people.  :)

Karen.

.

Hi.......*looking around*.......

Feels funny.....almost awkward.  I was very active here at Susan's several years ago, and poke my head in every once in a while, not sure just why.
Anyway luv, this is a really good idea. Too few people who have transitioned into mainstream happy lives post here.  Yes.....I'm one of those.....pretty smooth transition compared to the rest.  I went from a stocky guy's guy, to me, kept my wife, my kids, my whole family (except my bro in law).  Stayed in the same rural-ish neighborhood.  The folks around here don't know what the heck happened to 'Mike', or just when Marcy 'became gay' and got married to another woman.  Except for some rough spots in the early years (fired, by a bigoted GM, but threatened to sue, and stayed til I retired)......smooth enough 'stealth' life now.  Never been happier!

Miss Bev my transition has been rocky and slow, but the more "done" with it I become (as if I'll ever be done) the more I do wonder whether I'll fade out of the community. I'm glad you pop in once in awhile.

For the record I'm probably not going anywhere; I have no life. ;D

Life is pretty good.. :)

Friends and family are all amazing about my transition. Somewhere along the line, I even picked up a social life.. Now to acquire a love life - no success there yet, but not total failure either, which counts as a plus for me..

At the moment I am the happiest I have ever been.

Love me, Love Life.

Cindy

Quote from: summerbird on April 24, 2012, 01:32:43 PM
I'm probably one of the happiest people on this planet.

Being transsexual has been a wonderful gift for me.

Indeed, same here. I would not want to be reborn as a complete male, I'd be so much different.

I'm on T for 5 days now, I am friggin happy about it. Still worrying about my chest surgery coz I've no money atm, but I'll sort it out.

I love my life.

Quote from: summerbird on April 24, 2012, 01:32:43 PM
I'm probably one of the happiest people on this planet.

Being transsexual has been a wonderful gift for me.

I still don't get why being born in the wrong body and facing countless internal struggles because of it could ever be seen as more of a blessing than a curse, but to each their own, I guess.

Quote from: JasonRX on May 27, 2012, 11:59:59 AM
I still don't get why being born in the wrong body and facing countless internal struggles because of it could ever be seen as more of a blessing than a curse, but to each their own, I guess.

It IS a blessing and a curse. I can not really explain it...
Its like if I was born with a male body, I would be totally different. I regard transsexuals as some kind of special people... Maybe because they are the closest to my idea, that the more one looks like between the two genders or is both two genders the same time is the closer the person is to ideal.

I just think the more bad things one experiences, the more successful s/he can be, the more problem, the better problem solving. I may sound completely different from what I want to sound now... whatever :D

Quote from: caliyr on May 27, 2012, 04:49:36 PM
It IS a blessing and a curse. I can not really explain it...
Its like if I was born with a male body, I would be totally different. I regard transsexuals as some kind of special people... Maybe because they are the closest to my idea, that the more one looks like between the two genders or is both two genders the same time is the closer the person is to ideal.

I just think the more bad things one experiences, the more successful s/he can be, the more problem, the better problem solving. I may sound completely different from what I want to sound now... whatever :D

I couldn't disagree more with it being a blessing at all, but everyone is allowed their own opinions as I just had said. I also don't think it's any more special than any other medical condition someone has to overcome. But again, oh well.

I have good friends, am enjoying study, and have enough to live on.  True, no romantic SO at the moment, but all in all life is good. 

Karen.

Quote from: Melody Maia on January 25, 2011, 05:58:13 PM
I've just started to step out into the world as Melody and the world doesn't seem to mind.

I'm sitting in my office at work, and I needed a break from the monotony of process management, and I read Melody's post.  Now I'm crying like a baby at how wonderfully simple the expression of all my hopes and dreams could be.  Since admitting Kyla deserved a chance at life I have;

Found support from my SO, her willingness to do whatever was necessary to see this through.
Begun tracking what I take into my body and curbing the junk I used to eat.
Started an exercise routing that is targeting all the right muscles to give me that killer hourglass.
All in all, I've gotten healthy, and not lost an ounce of love.

Thank you Melody for that wonderful warmth I feel at reading those words!

This is a great thread. It is so nice to read peoples positive experiences. Thank you all.

I really do love my life... REALLY love my life!

Being a trans woman is the single hardest challenge that I have ever faced in my life.  Many have  tried to change me over the years, and more than one have tried to murder me.  That said, I LOVE the woman I have grown up to become.  That is worth repeating: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the woman that I have grown up to become!

I have the full acceptance of my family, parents and siblings alike.  I met and married a woman who insists that she has searched for me her entire life, that all she ever wanted was to meet a smart, beautiful trans woman who would love her without reservation and who would treasure her for the pure heart that she possesses.  I am loved and respected and well paid at work; my employers honor my unique mix of talents and outrageous sense of style.  I am generally loved and admired by most people who know me for the sweet, funny, smart, highly spiritual, beautiful woman that I am.  I'm fit, healthy, deliriously happy... and I have pink, purple and blue streaks in my hair... what's not to love about this life?  I wouldn't trade who I am today for anything!

Peace,
Miharu

I do so love being free.
Free from the prison of trying and failing again and again. Of trying to be what I though others expected me to be. I tried so hard to be accept but now know that the problem was that I had no self-respect. I had continually feelings of being worthless, hopeless and all wrong inside and out.

But now:
I look in the mirror and I see a very happy women.
She smile as I look at her.
I see the love of life in her eyes.
She is so thankful for each new day.

A people person, she does really care for others.
She love to share herself with people.
Her middle name seem to be encouragement.
She loves to talk.
No one she meets is a stranger for long.
She is confidant and knows who she is.
There is no fear of sharing her past, present or even her future dreams.
She will stand-up for her friends and herself.

There is hope in her eyes.
Hope that her physical transition will be completed soon.
And hope for family that they will someday accept her.
Hope and trust in her God.

And she is so grateful to have come so far.
Grateful for so many friends that have encouraged her along the way.

I see a women in the mirror who can hardly wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

There have been a lot of times in my post op life I felt this way.  Now is not one of them.

I think positive stories about transition are wonderful and certainly--in many ways--my transition has been a fairy tale.  I kept my former life intact, profession, spouse, kids, friends, family.  Post transition I have become a very successful artist in addition to maintaining a profession.  At times, I've thought, "Thank God I'm a girl now!"  I couldn't take another minute as a guy.  Had I not transitioned, I probably would have killed myself.  I had a plan.

At times, I still love my life.  I often hate my life as well.  I no longer have any life before transition.  Unless you're out and proud (I'm not), life is full is difficult moments.  I live in a strange world where the old friends/neighbors/clients know my history and most people after have no clue.  Thus, my spouse is still my wife but also my sister.  I do not attend her work functions; we don't want to have to make that explanation.  Most of the time, I can't declare to world that this woman is the love of my life.  We have no physical relationship.  That didn't bother me for a long time but for some reason, it does now.

I am dad to four children (I am not and never was their mother so "mom" is not an option) but I am also their aunt to most of the world.  My grandchildren don't know I'm their grandparent--too hard to explain to small children.

I grow tired of remembering to maintain a female tone to my voice.  I hated guy clothing but I'm not much of a girly girl and tire maintaining a feminine demeanor.  Truth is, I'm pretty andro but andro isn't all that acceptable either.  Living as a guy for me was a lie but now I'm just running another set of lies.

I think it's easy to love life after transition with the dysphoria relieved, life finally making some sense.  We live with this because we have to but I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  I don't miss growing up as a girl as many MTFs lament.  I miss growing up being happy with who I was.

DawnL

I am not post op but hope to be in a year. I have been on this journey for about 5 years now.
Transitioning has lost me my wife and family. That includes 5 grandchildren that know me as grandpa.
Maybe someday they will accept me and maybe not.

I so wonder about the response above that Dawn wrote.

Their is no shame in who I am or of my past. If it helps others I will gladly share that I am transsexual. But I don't go around broadcasting it to the world. I have many friends that know and some that only know me as a women. Part of the joy of my life is to help other to give the dignity and respect even when other don't.  I want to be an encouragement for not only trans folks but all who are looked down on by society and people.

It seem normal and is part of who I am to maintaining a "feminine demeanor".
To take care of your body and to dress well first for myself and than for others is usually a joy.
I love figuring out what I want to wear, how I want to do my hair and makeup.
Yes they are trappings but for me they are an expression of who I am.
Even as a male I was very conscious of my clothing and hair.
At my age my voice isn't as important as for the younger women. But even then I naturally speak softer and higher than I did before. It is just part of me now. Nothing I have to work at.

I know not all of us girls are alike but I love dresses. Love makeup and long hair. Skirts are great and I love to wear bikinis to the beach.
You can tell from what I just shared that I am what is called a girly-girl.

My therapist said it is normal to regret that you didn't have a normal female childhood.
So I guess I am normal that way.



I so hope that Dawn L was just in a bad mood when she wrote. Would so hate to think that after transitioning she still is unhappy with life.

Life is an adventure and we should live it to the fullest.
Yes I truly love life and I am thankful for each new day.

I deal with occasional depression. However being in a pit all the time forced me to realize that it was just my moods and nothing really to be sad about. Let's make a list shall we? :3

1. My mom and brother fully support me.
2. I want to say when I lose more weight I will be very passable and pretty albeit a bit of a amazon :P
3. I am back on my meds.
4. Back in school and have a wonderful supportive teacher.
5. I finally found a friend outside the net and it feels wonderful to be able to talk with someone :)
6. Did I mention my mom? God I love my mom, always giving me older clothes, taking me shopping and helping me in the ways of bein a woman :)

Sure there are days when I am down but I look at those reasons and truck on :) I like this thread ^_^

Quote from: DawnL on July 28, 2012, 12:27:11 AM
I am dad to four children (I am not and never was their mother so "mom" is not an option) but I am also their aunt to most of the world.  My grandchildren don't know I'm their grandparent--too hard to explain to small children.

I know of a great book to help tell small children. It can be adapted by the author to any adult's situation. I used it to tell my son who is six, and it really helped him understand. I would be happy to put you in touch with the author. Only down side is the author has yet to find an illustrator to complete the book to satisfaction.

wow i guess my post is going to be quite long here
yes i have had both hard and awesome experiences
i had to fight many fights with my family for my acceptance i had to fight myself to agree for transitioning
by all of those fights i gained an anormous amount of courage and braveness and self knowing and self aprreciation
since then i got friends who love me the way i am and considering me a born women for anything and the most important a friend
my mom starts to consider me a girl[few days ago she asked me if im not in love with my best friend and i said of corse not she has a bf and she added she aint lesbian too]
and my best friend and my ex bf loves hanging out with me for all is worth and i finnaly found my adultsence friends wich i never had before
im soon maybe going for college to study a proffesion i sure do love
and i finnaly have some breathing space by my family to do somethings i want and behave the way i want and look the way i want

i want a dog =)
and i sure do love myself my family and my life since i decided on transitioning

and i realy do think its a shame when people has hard times they tend to post and when all goes well they dont bother wich makes a bad stigma we all suffer to the end of our lives with no exceptions

yea we got many many transgender people all over the world who enjoy life to the end as who they like to be

Quote from: Jillieann Rose on July 28, 2012, 09:44:21 PM
I so hope that Dawn L was just in a bad mood when she wrote. Would so hate to think that after transitioning she still is unhappy with life.

If it's a bad mood, then it's rather persistent.

I am less unhappy than I was prior to transition but transition only mostly resolved my dysphoria.   Transition can and will help resolve the dysphoria but as most of us discover, it most often creates a new set of problems as well.  Beyond the obvious issues of passing and finding work, our personal relationships suffer.  Most of us lose friends and family, and we rationalize that since this is not a choice, we must do what we do, whatever the consequences. 

It is not a choice, but that certainly doesn't lessen the cost and emotional pain of losing those relationships.  I don't often hear how people deal with that.  The loss, the mourning...

I didn't feel it much when I transitioned--I was too busy transitioning.  But I do now and the sense of loss is sometimes overwhelming.

Yes I love life now. I still have bottom surgery to go before my transition is complete.
Family and friend have been lost. It hurts but is bearable allot more bearable than being in the wrong body.
I am gain new friends. Close friends.
When one is open and friendly with others they respond in kind.
As an old saying goes, "To have friends you need to be a friend."
I will continue to reach out to other in love and respect eventhough it makes me vulnerable.
Meaning used and hurt but others. Life a real life and being able to helping others is well worth the risk.
I will never go back into the shell (cell) of loneliness and selfishness that had been in for so many years.
Hugs,
Jillieann Rose

I cant say my short start has been to bad, money has been tight, but getting my referrals was easy.  im two months into hrt, my employer knows im mtf, and is cool with it. most of my friends and family know, and are cool with it or tolerant (  :-\ )         aside from that. if social and work enviroments are a'ok? whats to complain about, but my support goes out to those who have a rough way to go through everything *hug*

First day of HRT. :) It begins!

I love that hormones can be synthesized, easily manufactured, and ultimately acquired.

I love that the higher-ups in academia generally work towards progressive explanations in defining the nature of gender.

I love that in my state I'll be protected from discrimination when coming out, assuming the unlikely scenario that my supervision would even discriminate.

I absolutely love my life.

I haven't always. I worked my butt off to get things to this point. I love what I do, I love my friends, and most importantly I love the person who I am. Sure there are things that could happen or could change that could make me happier and I would be remiss if I didn't say that. But I am so happy with the way things are turning out for me now.

this is a great thread, I'm on the front end of a long and slow transition so the jury is still out, but my partner is on board (out to her for 10 yrs) and ahead of me in the adjustment - she's ready for me to start hrt.  Kids seem fine, so far so good.  To be continued...

Each person has different experiences and circumstances. Many people have never met a trans person let alone know one. I am a proponent of transgender folks telling their own stories. Letting our opponents control our perception of ourselves is something that I am not goiing to allow. I have shared my being trans with a number of people the past few months. There have been responses from surprise to shock to acceptance.   

I am loving the process of learning and growing, and I'm excited that the period of complete secrecy is coming to an end. It has been tough seeing the potential for happiness for my fiance at home, and then going out into the world where she feels she has to hide who she is, constantly switching gears between names and pronouns, and the emotional rollercoaster involved. It may not be easy The changes to our relationship with friends family and the world at large may not be easy, but it will be nice to share the wonderful person who I have gotten to know with the people that are important to us.

1. Pre-T, I was muscular as a normal teenage guy my age.
2. Pre- T, I passed 80% of the time.
3. My best memories come from when I was at camp (13-15 years old) and the owner put me into a room with the guys. That could never, ever compare to being in a room with icky boring girls  :D. We had the best times ever.
4. I'm able to experience both sides of the gender world. I could make guys jealous by saying I can use the girls bathroom and have seen plenty of girls change in my life  :angel:
5. I've had plenty of friends who just didn't care what gender I was, and a lot treated me according to my identity.
6. I get to experience both female and male puberty.
7. I have a very small chest so that never stopped me from passing.
8. I have stories to tell from high school how I was the most attractive girl at most school dances (sorry for sounding conceited but it's what people kept telling me throughout the years!)
9. As a kid, I kept wishing and praying that one day I'd wake up as a boy. I thought it was NEVER possible that it could happen, that I could switch genders. I thought I'd have to suck it up and identify as a lesbian forever. Now, I found out that it is very very possible, and I began the process.
10. I have a loving family, a loving girlfriend (her hateful family doesn't count), and loving pets (4 cats and a dog  ;D)

Great thread. I read it and loved the optimism.

And yes - I love my life! I cannot imagine having a better partner, shortly after coming out, an entirely new group of friends in my life that are so fantastic they don't even recognize trans as anything worthy of consideration (its the best reaction people can I have imo). Furthermore, my biology took to HRT like fish to water and just around a year I was passing in t-shirt and jeans. I have an ass that can stop time (avid runner) and my city (Denver) is an island of awesome.

Now, years after taking those first steps, riddled with fear, little hope for the future, with dysphoria wrecking my mind I'm suddenly living the life I've always wanted but dare not hope for. If you're on the edge like I was many years ago, factor this important fact into your decisions - life cannot be predicted. Maybe its a tough road but then, it also might be wonderful.

None of the horrors I anticipated ever occurred. Instead nothing but positive things have happened. Rapid and profound physical changes, meaningful friendship and deeply committed healthy relationship. Ok, family sucks but they'll get over it ....eventually.

Well Celery you have been reading my mind I'd say.  Life is great.

Uni Exams over and I think I did pretty well, although another week before results start to come out, and I am in love with a wonderful woman who I will get to see again tomorrow. 

Totally accepted as a woman everywhere, or maybe at 6'2" and fairly fit looking I intimidate anyone who is anti. ;)  Being able to walk down the street holding hands with my girl and no second glances is a sign of how far Tasmania has come.

Life is good.

Karen.

Quote from: justmeinoz on November 22, 2012, 05:45:28 AM
Totally accepted as a woman everywhere, or maybe at 6'2" and fairly fit looking I intimidate anyone who is anti. ;)  Being able to walk down the street holding hands with my girl and no second glances is a sign of how far Tasmania has come.

Karen.

We did receive a flabbergasted look from an older woman once. I suppose she is NOT a Denver resident and the site of 2 women kissing was oh-so shocking! So we kissed some more. hehe

Quote from: justmeinoz on November 22, 2012, 05:45:28 AM
Well Celery you have been reading my mind I'd say.  Life is great.

Uni Exams over and I think I did pretty well, although another week before results start to come out, and I am in love with a wonderful woman who I will get to see again tomorrow. 

Totally accepted as a woman everywhere, or maybe at 6'2" and fairly fit looking I intimidate anyone who is anti. ;)  Being able to walk down the street holding hands with my girl and no second glances is a sign of how far Tasmania has come.

Life is good.

Karen.

Hope the exams went well Sis. Is this the end of first or second year? Time flies when we are naughty. Hugs to your lovely lady as well.

Are you coming over to the big island? A few of us are trying to hook up for Christmas debauchery, or at least dinner. Catherine Sarah can finally sit down again and the brands look pretty good IMO.

Cindy

I wrote in August of my optimism and I still have it. Divorce came a month and 1/2 ago, sold the family home a couple of weeks ago and will have my name legally changed on Monday.
I now live in a house and have my own apartment down stairs. The owner has become good a friend.
She is such a sweet interesting person and has been introducing me to her friends. Yes she know all about my pass but accepts me as another women in fact as a sister. I feel so alive and free.
Finally I am accepted as one of the girls where ever I go and what ever I do.
As I said before I have lost me family and many so called friends. If that is the price I have to pay so be it.
My joy is real. I am now real and living. I like who I am.
Girls and guys please don't let your fears rob you of real life as it should be.
Nothing absolutely nothing is worth the price of living a lie.
Hugs

Uni exam results are out at the end of this week so fingers crossed I will make it to 2nd Year Cindy.
I have dropped Gender Studies and biology and am taking Psych so I can hopefully put something back into our community. According to a Psychologist I was talking to there are no GLBTIQ people in that speciality here.

I will be organising a trip to the mainland before Christmas, and will let you know closer to the date.
Hopefully with Andrea as well, and introduce her to my family and friends over there.   Off to Launnie tomorrow to be with her for a couple of days, then we will be here at the weekend for the 'Blondie, Saints and The Stranglers '  concert on Saturday  8), and the Marriage Equality campaign BBQ on Sunday.   

It's all happening on 2-Head Island!! :laugh:

Karen.

I've found a certain entertainment in being completely out in the open about my trans status because it affords me the chance to make people so utterly and completely confused that it's practically delicious.
Like when I stood outside smoking with a couple people and was talking to the girls that were there about the importance of having the right bra. I don't remember exactly what I said but it was along the lines of "Back when I had tits, if I put on the right bra and the right shirt then it was like I was two sizes thinner and far, FAR, more attractive. Got free pizza once." and the guy that was outside with us looked at me with pure confusion in his eyes and went
"back when you had tits?"
"yes"
"were you really fat or?"
"nope, I had tits"
"but?... was it fat?"
"nope, tits"

So on, so forth, 'till one of the girls took pity on him and explained the situation in simple terms.
Inside my head I danced the dance of pure mischief.

I have a 100+ GPA in school.

I have great friends and a loving sister/father.

I can play the violin and piano.

I know 2 languages.

I am very healthy.

I finished my thesis!  :D :D :D

Currently approaching my third month of HRT here in Japan, and growing more and more fond of the person I see in the mirror each day. I was actually super-apprehensive about coming here because of all that was going on in my life, but I decided to take a chance, and it wound up being such a good decision. I've made so many wonderful friends here, all of whom just treat me like one of the girls, and while some people might find transitioning in a foreign environment away from one's support network more difficult, I've actually found it so much easier transitioning here than I did back home. Nobody here knows who I was, what my old name was, what I used to look like... So I feel no obligation at all to hold onto any semblance of the person I was before coming out, and am nothing more or less here than me.

Oh, and I fit into teeny Japanese girls' clothes (as long as I pick medium or larger). A surprise, but a welcome one! I guess I can thank my not very broad shoulders, as one of my cis friends here from America isn't as lucky. :'D

Every once in a while I'll post on here, because Life changes...right?

So far, it's been great! My son knows about me, my wife who now considers herself to be a lesbian (and she's a hottie). It's been hard only because I have a sick baby girl, but I've never wanted to give up with my whole transition process. Most of my friends know. And even though my transition has gone very slow because of certain things, I've kept on going. I love my new self, and being able to share it with my loved ones. My wife and I have such a blast now, probably even more than before. We love the new sense of intimacy since it seems to have improved tenfold. My son even said to be he likes the new me better! And my friends see how happy I am, and that make them happy too.
I've never been happier with my life. Yes sometimes you run into complications with things but they will be eventually resolved. Nobody said it was going to be easy and the roller coaster of new emotions sometimes add to the drama, but know that you will be happy in the end as I have been. Also, to those new to this game, no person in here has the best plan. You have to follow your own. My transition was a slow but planned one and that is what worked the best for me. Different people different ways.  Hope this helps those looking for some light.

Even if I mess up this final year at University (very likely), I'll still have a degree and graduate in June. No matter what, I have my MA, the Honours year is just an optional bonus.

I also have some awesome friends who love me.

I'm going to be ok.

Quote from: rejennyrated on January 25, 2011, 04:54:52 PM
Ok. I sometimes think that people coming here to find out about being trans must go away with the impression that we all go through hell.

Over to you...

I myself couldn't be happier than I am today. I wouldn't even trade places with a GG. To me the big one was srs surgery. It changed my life in a subtle and yet profound way. From day 1 after surgery until today, I have never had to worry about my gender ever again. It is physically obvious, even to the point of being irregardless of identity documents (although having them match is a big plus too). Once the operation was done, I was able to take that part of my brain that focused on my gender and dedicate it to other things like living a good life. My career took a major swing upwards after my transition. Career-wise I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. I was able to focus on living my life, building new relationships with people, feeling comfortable talking to strangers, everything that was the complete opposite of where I was. If a time traveller was able to see the future and tell me where I am today, but 15 years ago, I would have told them they were nuts.

In the beginning it all looks next to impossible. How can this be done? What if a doctor won't prescribe me hormones? What if a doctor says no and I can't get surgery? You know the usual. I didn't come into the office of my shrink on day 1 in a dress, that came later. What I found was that I was no different than anyone else that goes through this process. The key thing was determination to me. If I was going to do this, I didn't want to half do it. I wanted it to be done.

I went throuh the regular old standards of care and by the time I had the required 2 letters for surgery, it took me a few months to realize that the only force in the universe that would ever stop me from getting that surgery was me. I was done with the standards and free to live my life from shrinks, doctors, etc. All I needed was the cash to get me to Montreal. It took me a few years of full time living while I was also recovering career-wise from the transition to be able to afford the surgery and once I was there, I couldn't help but think I needed a couple of good pinches because it was actually going to happen.

I just remember the days when my surgery date was coming. I was afraid to stub a toe, get a parking ticket, get a toothache or anything that would deny me my day in the sun. Eventually the stars and planets did all line up for me and then I knew it was my turn. I was going to be able to finish what I started. Then that day came and passed. And here I am. older, wiser, and happier :)

wow zumbagirl, what a story.

I hope I can get too the happy ending  ;D

I thought this picture from Interesting Engineering was appropriate for this thread:

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1337.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo665%2FLearnedHand1%2FSteps_zps37f0bc49.jpg&hash=9410de1ca9892ba1034bf7c1cb3e6f6f49117eac)

I just finished all my exams and they weren't as horrible as I thought they'd be!!  ;D Yay! Vacation!

I just got the all-clear from all family members I'll be seeing at Christmas, and yeah, I get to be Amy all day, and from now on. I've got a very promising job interview scheduled for the 3rd of January. The long-term stuff I've been working on is finally starting to pay off a little and yeah, it feels pretty good. :)

I just love my life.

Sure, there are ups and downs, but that is part of life. But I have never, ever felt like I didn't love my life, even when things have been at it's lowest. It feels abit strange putting it into words like that, but that is truly how i feel. I just love life, my life. Given the chance to change anything I wouldn't change anything, because for me, my life is perfect.

I just love my life.

Even though I'm still in boy mode, the last six months I've been on HRT have been the happiest months of my life. Even though it doesn't pay enough, I like my job, and I'm in the best relationship of my life with a wonderful, supportive woman :)

Yay!

The agony and the agonizing are worth it.  I am living the dream.  I lost no family or friends in my transition.  A few acquaintances rejected me during transition, but far more accepted me.  Less than two years after my surgery I fell in love, hard.   I am now married to a woman who adores me and whom I adore.

I am still settling into my new status, but life is good.  I have found that most people treat me the same, regardless of whether or not they know I'm trans, and their attitude doesn't change if they didn't know but find out.  That has helped me relax and not worry about trying to hide my past.  It is wonderful to just be myself.

There are still times when what's-his-name appears in my head, so in a sense I am still transitioning.  Or perhaps I should say that I am building a new life.  That new life is wonderful.

Dare to live.

- Kate

i'm probably the happiest i've ever been in my life.  right now, right here.

Quote from: K8 on January 28, 2013, 09:49:14 PM
The agony and the agonizing are worth it.  I am living the dream.  I lost no family or friends in my transition.  A few acquaintances rejected me during transition, but far more accepted me.  Less than two years after my surgery I fell in love, hard.   I am now married to a woman who adores me and whom I adore.

I am still settling into my new status, but life is good.  I have found that most people treat me the same, regardless of whether or not they know I'm trans, and their attitude doesn't change if they didn't know but find out.  That has helped me relax and not worry about trying to hide my past.  It is wonderful to just be myself.

There are still times when what's-his-name appears in my head, so in a sense I am still transitioning.  Or perhaps I should say that I am building a new life.  That new life is wonderful.

Dare to live.

- Kate

Good to hear from you! Hugs, Devlyn

K8 and Transtrender - very glad to hear you're happier.

This is such a great thread I truly love it :)

Life now is nothing short of amazing, I smile every day and am truly happy.
Something totally unfamiliar to me before transition.
Finally I'm free to express myself in ways that always felt natural but had to hide away for so many years.

I love my body and my mind now matches.

From dark angry boy to happy full of life girl :)

Jay-Bird

Even though I've been a tad impatient with my transition the past 6+ weeks i have to say I'm so happy to finally be on the right path. For me everything is going well, starting to get myself up with school and hopefully will do well this semester, my boss is supportive of my transition and I am so confident and excited for the upcoming triathlon season this summer. 2013 is my year, the year of Julie!

The other day I passed, and got called 'son' by the person serving behind the counter at the chemist.
Made my day.

I wore my new binder today (the one I won in a poetry competition), and let Himself see me in it. He responded surprisingly well, he said I still look good to him (though, to be fair, I wasn't presenting in any other way). It's a start though.

I came out to a friend today and his response was just.. I couldn't have asked for a better one. He's absolutely amazing. I feel so lucky to have him as a friend.

I have only to add that unless you 100% completely love yourself then you can never ever truly love.

What a nice site.

I'm doing great, finally back on HRT, it feels great. Love to dress nice, do my nails, anything & everything normal & feminie. I've met lots of great girl friends all over the planet thru Susan's Place. Some are close to SRS, I'm so happy for them.

Plastic surgery for my face maybe, appointment next week, 99% sure I'll go ahead, time for a face lift. I'll look great after it all heals. I may have more for my face to become as feminine as possible.

RLE 90% of the time, most friends are OK, some family does not know, maybe later I'll talk with them.

Have fun girl friends.

One more thing, my nipples are becoming far more sensitive, Yea! It will be great to grow some nice girls. My mother was well endowed & I'm also hopeful for nice normal breasts. I love my life, also. 

Awsome thread,

I wanna post even when its might not be 100% happy happy,

I would say being transgender have lead me suffering,
it have been a challenge and still is, everytime I have to deal with transphobia of any kinds, whatever its the goverment, people on the street, the net, relatives.
I dont expect it to be easy, But I do feel im more true and happy than I could be if I just hid myself in the closet, and slept my life away.

what dosent kills you makes you stronger, and I think my experience have gained me some coints, I see people who often seams very interesteed in me or impresive because of what I have done in my young age or can relate to which people often belive I should be older to understand.

I wish not to forget those experience so I can use them in my life, and so far im very happy on how it turn out and how far I got.
im looking forward to the summer alot, im neither cis or rich, but being trans have learned me to value small parts of life who makes its good, and I think in a way it also makes me a more gratefull person than what I would have been.

Quote from: transtrender on January 29, 2013, 03:16:00 AM
i'm probably the happiest i've ever been in my life.  right now, right here.

Actually me too. I am older and never knew I could actually do this. I am happy to be who I really am. I am not having a lot of trouble, but more the usual things of trying to transition and so on. T has given me a feeling of well-being which is wonderful. Also have more of a social life than I have ever had sort of built in with a wonderful trans community here.

--Jay

My life is FAR better since I started transition. Being a man is  garbage.

I always wanted a sensual world and now i live in one. Women only can live in a sensual world. Men can only partake in it not dwell always in it.

Sooooo happy!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :D :D :D :D :D :D :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I've noticed Transwomen who promote the doom and gloom were better off being men. I can never really judge for sure but to me it seems a lot of us are simply kidding ourselves. Then they all blame their problems on transgender predjudice.

I'd say if it works, do it(my G-d do it!!!!!!) if it doesn't, find some other way to be happy.











Edited for profanity.

I so need to read this entire thread ... I love it  8)

I do love my life!  I love my wife and my son.  Fear of losing them made me miserable, but I finally decided to be true to myself ... and they accept and support me.  I am so blessed to take this journey with my wife and sone by my side.

I never believed I would start hormone therapy so quickly, but I am now on day three.  I felt happier since coming out to my immediate family (and a few others) ... I am hoping hrt will escalate these feelings.

My transition has been nothing short of just awesome! :) Well, my take-off. I've been slowly taking steps to becoming full time and now I have one more step before I can say I'm full time! (Minus the hormones and technical stuff).

Bathrooms!!

That aside; my friends, my work, my family, their all beside me on this decision! I've only had to let go of one person, and it was his choice to leave! I have nothing against that and would welcome him back into my life with open arms! I've been doing nothing but keeping myself as positive as I can, and so far it's working out fantastically! :) I've come clean with everyone I know, and I'm not scared to keep going! My egoconfidence has sky rocketed and I find myself smiling a lot for absolutely no reason!

I just recently met up with an old friend of mine and we've been dating for a few weeks now. She calls me her boyfriend all the time (Including openly tagging me on her Facebook status') and when I hear it my heart just flies!

So far, with the exemption of the bathrooms, I have reached and accomplished EVERY goal in the first phase of my transition! :) Soon therapy among other things, but I feel pretty darn good about myself and my life right now!

Quote from: Tiffanie on June 02, 2013, 03:02:44 PM
I so need to read this entire thread ... I love it  8)

I'm right with you on that one! All these stories are so uplifting and inspiring! :)

My brother is the coolest ever. He has reaffirmed his awesomeness by listing me as his brother on Facebook. I dunno how long ago he did this-- I barely use Facebook-- but I was browsing the brother-creature's Facebook, today, and discovered that he is the first of my family members to admit on the interwebs that I'm a dude.

THANK YOU. Finally someone who agrees.

I love my life. I really do. I'm grateful that I have supporting family members, friends, peers, coaches, etc and I'm grateful that I've had the experience to go through this. I'm so lucky for all of the support. I see this as a blessing as well and not a curse. I have no regrets on coming out and transitioning in my early teens. I don't regret starting testosterone at all. My life is becoming hell of a lot easier. But I don't mean to brag. I know that some people have it worse than me. And I know it sucks. I know there are so many trans people out there who can't find the acceptance from the people around them. I know that there are people who would rather die than be who they are. Its depressing to see it everywhere and I wish I could help them. I wish I could. I wish they had it easy like I have my entire life. I wish they could walk around everyday and not be phased by anyone's meaningless little ->-bleeped-<-. I wish they could walk around and be a man, a woman, a man and a woman, neither a man or a woman, whatever the hell they wanna be and nobody will question them otherwise. This world sucks.

I'm so glad to hear this as this is exactly how I feel and I was feeling guilty when compared to the amount of misery that so many of our sisters face. I have expressed this in my forum topics - I'm the positive one ... thank you and other who have replied. Yeah....

I live across the road from the Irish sea,I'm no longer dependant on alcohol,tobacco,speed and weed. I can enjoy a drink and don't carry on until I'm drunk,one is plenty.I have a great job as a landlady/barmaid/hotel manager every day is different.I'm reasonably attractive and don't look my age(55),I've lost 56 pounds over the last 2 years,I have my own long blonde hair(OK the colour's out of a bottle).I have loads more confidence as a woman than as a man.I'm 19 years post op and my electrolysis was finished a long time ago.

I have to admit I love my life too. I love being a daddy's girl and the fact that my family loves me so much and looks after my best interest. I love the fact that I'm a nurse and I get to travel so much. I'm still a little fuzzy on my childhood but most of my memories from like high school on have truly been a blessing. I feel so lucky that so many people made the right choices for me and helped make me into the person I am :)

I love my life. I'm 3 years into transition, 2 years 4 months on hormones. I am out about being trans, share it with new people in my life when it's applicable, or before we become friends on facebook because I talk about trans stuff there. I have been at university for 4 years and am in the 3rd year of a double major in Music and Theatre. The classmates who watched me transition are accepting. Everyone I've told at school is accepting. Last year I was in a theatre production that was put on for all incoming first year students and we had to write a monologue about our experiences at school. I wrote mine about transitioning while at school. The response from thousands of students was amazing. I still get stopped in the hallway by random people for them to say "Hey I saw you in that play, your story was awesome."

Being in transition for this long, I am loving myself more and more every day. I am getting more comfortable with my body. I am more confident as a person. I don't endlessly worry about social interactions, and I don't feel as lonely. I truly feel like I am becoming who I was really meant to be. And the more I see that man emerge, the more excited I get.

Life is pretty good. I wish I could tell early-transition me not to worry so much.

I love my life.  I start HRT soon and have 100% support of wife, family, coworkers and friends.
With my energy coming back, I can engage life and create all the things I have been dreaming of.

I finally understand the source of the anxiety and distress I have been in my entire life and the means to be free from it is in sight.

Not a single person in my life has not accepted me for what I am.  If anything it has made my friendships stronger. 

This is gonna rock...

Hey thats so true - we often get hung up about the negative events just because they are what bugs us the most and forget to mention the rest.
So I am happy in many ways now and during transition. I have lived the majority of my life after childhood in the right gender. I was lucky and transitioned at 23, which was pretty young in the 1990ies. Hormones worked great for me - I dropped the male acting and got hormones and within months I was more and more frequently gendered correctly even without having to put too much effort into extra- gendered clothing. I am 5"8 which is perfectly average for women in my country, I had pretty much female body hair, wide hips and a face that is passable (well we all think it could be better ;) ). I got my letters for SRS very soon after I started and despite the hardship I had with it it was THE best thing ever. I felt sooo good right after it and up to this day 13 years later I feel my body on many occasions in the way it is now and it always reminds me to appreciate that I have been given the gift of making it to the other side. Transition was fun on many occasions - I felt like a teenage girl and acted like it at times, luckily that was still ok for my age as with HRT I looked like a teenager as well. I was away from my parents for the first time and lived with nice people and we went out to clubs and danced and had fun, more than I ever thought I would have before transition. Going on a holiday vacation for the first time in transition was great - summertime and beaches and all of that with the allowance to do as all girls do in such situations. After I was settling down, I had a bit of a lag, I admit, some down time but I did study a topic I liked a lot, had lots of fun with it and managed to get a scientific degree and a PhD and the best thing about that is that I did it as me, not while pretending something else. I also became open and talkative at times and when I never liked people or speaking in publich pre transition I now am comfortable with both, actually enjoying it quite often. Life is so much better on the other side :D

Quote from: Emmaline on October 15, 2013, 05:52:37 AM
I ... have 100% support of wife, family, coworkers and friends.

Not a single person in my life has not accepted me for what I am.  If anything it has made my friendships stronger. 

This is gonna rock...

How wonderful for you!  I too found that my friendships got stronger, perhaps because I revealed more of who I am rather than trying to hide this big secret.

You go, girl! :icon_flower:

- Kate

Word,

It posses me off when people try to break the ice with something like like "You must have had a hard life."

I just decided to be myself and in two short years, I've gotten there. Just some tweaks to my face and ill be done.

Much to my surprise my parents didn't disown me. Lost my circle of friends but now I realise a lot of them are unhappy.like I was.

I live full time as myself (yes including work). As a matter of fact I'm more accepted at work than in general life.

I think the people that have difficult transitions are more vocal.

Yes more vocal, but also I think people with smooth transitions may feel guilty that they have had to face less horrors than some souls. 
I still have to pull my life back together after prolonged depression, self sabotaging my career and yes, I will have to put up with my own share of ->-bleeped-<-.  But its important to get the message out that there is goodness, acceptance and support somewhere out there for everyone... I am lucky because I surrounded myself with liberal, smart and creative people- mainly aethiests/agnostics/buddists.

But yeah... I think I am gonna make it.

Quote from: Emmaline on October 16, 2013, 03:13:06 AM
Yes more vocal, but also I think people with smooth transitions may feel guilty that they have had to face less horrors than some souls.

I guess I did in some aspects, but hey, there are always still some bumps in the road, so while a lot of things went much better for me than one could guess from the "horror stories" that are floating around so often, I did of course have my own bumps. But we focus on them a lot in other threads so this one was about all those good things that are more than a balanced counterweight of the bad stuff :). Like I had some severe complications in SRS and suffered but hey - I have a vagina, no more wrong parts, feel that every day and just love it - I would do it again even if the same would happen.

At first I tried to help people with problems by giving advice, etc. Now I just sit back and enjoy the schadenfreude. Learned you can't change people.

My therapist taught me that sometimes people will subconsciously create problems for themselves they can handle to avoid having to deal with ones they can't.

And we have each other for the bumps.

I have been depressed all my life. I have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. My first diagnosis came when I was 9.

The first day I felt true happiness was the day I talked to my therapist about transitioning. I felt peace for the first time ever. I cried with relief.

I love my life.

I love it because my older brother took me to my first hormone doctor appointment back in 2002 and have been accepting of me ever since. My mom is amazing and my dad finally came around before moving back to Ottawa over 10 years ago. I'm lucky because my family accepts me and supports me in whatever I want to do. I'm lucky because my parents paid for my breasts implants back in 2011 even though I have been slowly paying them back but all will be done once I move out onto my own.

I suffered from depression and anxiety but can now say I am out of the dark days as well no longer need medication to live day by day. I had a successful orchiectomy surgery and feel even better about myself now that I am no longer on Tblockers. I'm healthy I have a great family, A healthy dog and I really can't complain. Life is pretty good. Though I have had some bad days life is great.

While I'm currently still pre everything and riding the yoyo of depression on a regular basis, I use this thread as a source of inspiration and hope that it gets better and the pain gets replaced with joy and happiness.

Thank you all for sharing your joy <3

Quote from: Laurenza on January 19, 2014, 07:29:37 PM
While I'm currently still pre everything and riding the yoyo of depression on a regular basis, I use this thread as a source of inspiration and hope that it gets better and the pain gets replaced with joy and happiness.

Thank you all for sharing your joy <3

Same here! :)

I love my life too. I don't look have bad (I'm shallow I know). I make decent money and can get guys. I have also noticed that woman go through different periods and I think I'm coming up on a new great one. I have a few wonderful people in my life and hopefully soon will be a mom. My post op life is great :)
Kappa kappa gamma for life!

My joy comes from the ability i have to be seen as a woman on most of my days and y roommates who supported the trans community since before i moved in. I am lucky for those things in my life.

I want in on this one! I'm three days post op, ftm top surgery. Hi!

I have an extremely supportive family. It took some time, but my mother especially started going to pflag meetings and doing research to really understand and be okay with my transition. I have a boyfriend that is four days post op himself!

My mother came by to see me today (brought us cupcakes!) and mentioned she told my grandmother about my surgery. Grandma was very happy and made sure that i know shes close if i need something! in fact my whole extended family didnt even bat an eyelash. They slip up sometimes but they love me so i dont mind much. I got to be best man at my brothers wedding. He was so happy to give me that opportunity as well.

I grew up pagan, being around a coven was amazing. All of the people i grew up with sent me good energy and told my boyfriend and i how proud they are of us for taking hold of our own lives. The support i have is amazing. even after i cut contact with my highschool friends, for fear of being thought of as weird for transitioning, they refused to let me disappear from their lives and accept me fully. The love i have is almost corporeal, im so very lucky and blessed. I also got the chance to help trans youth realize there were ways that they could feel right. Ive saved lives by existing.

Most of all, i can look in a mirror with no shirt on and smile. Because im finally right.

My name is Ev, which is an androgynous prefix for several names I go by depending on my dress and appearance: Evelyn (feminine) and Evan (masculine) specificially.  I like to view myself as "transdrogynous" because I am going through the MTF change for sexual interests/preferences  and not so much gender identity.  I am a pre-op and decided to carry this through 3 weeks ago, waiting for the opportunity to arise for me to let Ev out for the last 18 years.  The outing has been easy, exciting, and rewarding so far.  There is an old saying: "Trying is lying."  I tried for years to be me.  But I have not tried the last month. 

I am currently (at the time of this post) not on hormones but am to see a geneticst soon for them.  I love my body: 5'11 175 lbs, 33 inch legs, 32 (in man's sizes) at the waist, a natural A cup without hormones and broad shoulders.  Even though I am 32 I am often asked if I am in my early 20's or so which is good for the self-esteem.  I love my eyes and my lips and the softness of my skin.  However, I see where I would like to take my body and that is exciting within itself.  I will learn how to make the most out of that too: I always have.  I was 300 Lbs while in a depression a few years ago so I have a lot to be proud of.

I had a pretty crappy life as a kid, but rather than look at that as a tragic past I look at is as the 1st chapter of a "coming of age" story where I rise above those who sought to destroy me and conquer them not by destroying them so to speak, but by becoming more than they ever thought I could be.  Sort of like a allegorical transexual Conan if you will, minus the blood and the gore and the giant biceps.  Okay, maybe that was a bad example, but I have a warrior spirit of sorts and symbolically vanquishing my enemies is something in the blood.  But the biceps...yes please!

But where were we?  Oh yes:

Love life?  I don't LOVE life: I worship it!  Let me preach all about it:

I am a biological father of three wonderful children and have been with the same awesome woman for 15 years.  I am a USAF Vet, self-published author FOUR times over and soon to be five, secular minister, and martial artist of 20+ years.  I love food and to cook, and the coolness of the night and the sound of rain.  Nature is beautiful and I look to her more gentle aspects when I am down as it lifts me up. 

Hot baths?  Don't get me started!  Who needs a boyfriend when you have a hot bath, some wine, chocolate, incense, candles and a little soft music to fill the air?  Always cheers me up!

Sexy people?  I LOVE sexy people.  I like to look at them, think about them.  Ooooh yes, when I am down I can always count on a pretty face to life me up.  Guys, girls, doesn't matter!  Gorgeous!

I am currently being groomed to be part of a Mary Kay troupe as a neck-up model so that makes me feel good.  Can't wait to see what the ladies can do with my face.  :)  Maybe after the transition is a little further along I can do some full-body shots?  That would be fun.

Running!  I love to run.  So much freedom.  Speaking of freedom, what about skirts and dresses?  So loose, so soft.  I like!

I still like my my boy-dollies.  The guys call them action figures.  Action figures, dolls...what's in a name anyways?  I like Transformers.  Reminds me of myself: able to change modes and appearances.  Evan, Evelyn...who shall I go as today?

I love to read, but hate TV.  Give me a good book!  Give me a REAL book.  The soft firmness, the smell, the sound as you turn the page, the paper sliding across your fningers as you run them accross the outside of the book...the words, the images...isn't it beautiful?  Books are nice.  I have a lot of them...but I could always have more.  :)

...and...and...and...fun stuff!

Life is filled with so many great things.  I love life.  Hail life!

I spent a long time feeling like a ghost. Joyless, soulless, empty, dull.

I've never felt more alive. I feel like a real person now.

Being trans is often terrifying, but it's the kind of fear that comes with euphoria and exhilaration. I was always unhappy before - now, I'm so happy, experiencing so many new emotions, that it's overwhelming.

I guess the fear is that I'll somehow lose it all and go back to the way I was before, a pathetic, wretched creature fumbling sadly in the dark.

But I've known, ever since the first time I told someone I'm a lady, I have the strength to keep going.

Strength, happiness, self-understanding, confidence, self-esteem - that's what being trans means for me.

I pass pretty much all the time now, nobody thinks I'm anything other than cis and maybe a bit effeminate. It's great to be able to stop worrying about passing and everything. I have had top surgery and I can look in the mirror without feeling sick. I feel like myself. If I hadn't transitioned, I'd be dead now. It's still such a novel concept for me to think that I have a life ahead of me and that I want to live it. It's not perfect, life never is, but I'm feeling good anyway.

I had a good day today.  I like my job.  The kitten I'm bottle feeding is getting bigger and her eyes are open.  My co-workers accept me and don't intentionally do things to make me uncomfortable, not even so much as weird looks.  I was hating this new hair-cut I got because it's a high and tight and it just doesn't suit my face and makes me look younger than I should(like, pre-teen) but they were all very polite and two of my bosses even said they liked it.

This thread is fantastic! 

My impression early on was that transgender people all had tragic stories of horrific abuse, and they all seemed to describe suicidal levels of depression.  I've even heard a few say that you shouldn't even attempt transition unless your only options are transition or death.  Death?  Really?  I'm just not that dramatic about anything in life.  So I always felt like I probably wasn't really transgender, and it kept me from transitioning in my early 20's.

So threads like this are enormously helpful for people like me.

I have a lot to be thankful for.  Sure I have mild depression when the dysphoria really kicks in, but overall I'm happy.  And I'm excited about being able to live life as myself.  And the exploration process has been fun so far.  For most of my life I've kept my distance from femininity, but now I can really go after it.

I'm actually glad I didn't transition early on though.  I have 4 amazing kids, and a wife who seems up to the challenge of sticking with me through all this.  I'm also in a stable career, and I'm trying to get myself into a company with insurance that'll pay for a lot of it. *crossing fingers*

I've been incredibly lucky and fortunate as well. I often question why me, why have I been allowed to be trans, yet be so fortunate for so many things. Being able to pass, fantastic family and friends, so many wonderful things. Sure there are difficulties in my life, and sure I feel that I SHOULD have been born a girl initially to avoid having to go through being trans, but compared to many I am really really lucky and I am far happier, more confident, prettier, than I've ever been before transitioning ;)

I am also blessed with the ability to do a lot of good for the world, and I keep telling myself that's what I can do for what I have been given. It's a nice feeling :)

Random happy tidbits of recent life:

I found a practice nearby that does HRT off informed consent and am waiting on the callback for my intake appointment.

I got a 997 binder for $15 so my broken down tri-top can finally go.

And odd but makes-me-feel-good thing:Caught some heat for being seen going to the womens' room at a store yesterday. I cracked up and beamed for a few hours.

Nice!  Random tit-bits. ;)

First box of hormones... done.  Made a huge difference!
Skin softening, body hair soft and light already.  Pretty cool.

Discovered The Pixies... how did I miss them?

The man I fell in love with 10 years ago and married 6 years ago is 100% supportive and encouraging to me and says that I'm still the person he fell in love with. He says he "won the lottery" and says he doesn't deserve me all the time. When I bring up worries about how we'll be treated as I transition, by family and strangers, he says "f*** them, I don't care. I love you." He's always identified as comfortably bisexual, so this whole "surprise! you thought you married a woman but I'm actually a dude!" is not really phasing him at all. I cannot comprehend how I got so incredibly lucky.

One of my close friends from college asked me today if I would be his groomsman at his wedding next May. And then he told me that after talking to me about my transition, he talked to his fiance about it, and she told him that she's actually genderfluid (she chooses to use female pronouns still) but hadn't known how to tell him. So I feel really freakin' good about that. (and his reaction was the same as my spouse's-- she's still the same person he fell in love with, so it doesn't affect his feelings at all. I know some quality humans)

I love that I finally accepted who I was and stopped hiding it. I'm recently in the process and every step I take I feel lighter and happier than I have ever felt before. I feel like a boy in a toy store when I go to the men's department. I've NEVER EVER liked shopping and now I'm basically addicted (not a real addiction, but don't let me in the men's underwear section because I will take the store home!). I LOVE that I can be me and feel myself inside and out. And, although I am not there completely on the outside yet, I know I am moving in the right direction. Something that feels this great is like heaven came to my world  :).

I look fairly androgenous although my long hair combined with my face makes me look like a girl but eh.  I love my hair and I do look more masculine when I pull or slick it back.
My girlfriend who I've been with since before my transition told me she'd support me all the way and she doesn't care what gender I am as long as I'm happy.
I live somewhere with socialized medicine, so HRT and all of my psych appointments are covered.
I've always been told by my friends that I'm more like a guy than a girl even though I'm quite feminine.
My parents are supporting me, and are even helping me with getting binders and a packer.
I can still have a normal sex life, because even though there are certain ways I don't like being touched, they're very non-restrictive.
I am beautiful.  I'd rather be handsome than beautiful, but I'm not complaining.

Beautiful boys are still hot, right?

I realized today I was happy.  It was 11:30 when I realized I had not yet took my antidepressant or had coffee.  Normally I would be a disaster zone by then.  Something really good is happening to my chemistry.

I have found so many things about transitioning to be not nearly as frightening as I initially anticipated.  Finding open-minded professionals here has been amazing - and to be welcomed into a new family with open arms and no judgement has been a godsend.  Some of the great things that have happened to me since transitioning:

• I've gained a second family (my in-laws) who love me and treat me like the man I was meant to be.
• I've found an amazing GP, psychiatrist and surgeon who have made the medical side of transitioning so incredibly uplifting.
• I've managed to find a trans-friendly accountant and bank.
• I'm finally able to get out into the world and work, earning enough money for the little things like a gym membership, saving for our own home and gifts for those whom I love.
• I'm finally able to open my mouth in a conversation without worrying about my voice giving me away.
• Though I have a long way to go still, I'm learning to love myself.

This is a nice thread.   I had a very lucky time transitioning as well. I feel very blessed to have had almost no negativity about it.

I love seeing so much positivity!! <3  It's been a horror story with a fairy tale ending for me..  the fairy tale being the happiness knowing that I'm still alive to fight another day. Everything that seemed out of my reach less then a year ago is my reach or already attained.  Yes I love my life more some days then others but if there is one good thing that we can attain from looking back, its to realize how far we have come.

Hello everyone,

Well, still dunno where I am, but... this is a great, wonderful adventure.
Every path, EVERY LIFE lived feeling and doing, WITHOUT FEAR and OVERCOMING THE TROUBLES, is a great adventure!
I love "gay communities" for this, they ARE the REAL life of the humanity, together with the "official" ones.

Kisses to all of you ;)
And let's gooooo

I'm glad that I'm about to finally get on with transitioning very soon and grow bigger tits and have a more feminine silhouette

I'm also grateful for having guy friends who understand me, don't discriminate me, and just joke around with me in harmless ways xD

I'm grateful for being able to be the Beyonce in my trio of girl-friends.

I'm grateful for having a laptop, three smartphones, an iPad, my own room, and having 20 likes on FaceBook at the very least x)

Btw i like this thread. Makes me feel fuzzy :) #GirlsLikeUs

Well, for starters there's this: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,183117.0.html

That in and of itself made a huge difference.

But I'm glad to have an SO who has supported me every step of the way, from coming out to dressing to setting up health insurance that covers the potential needs of gender dysphoria, both psychological and physical.

I'm glad to have the friends I do - when I came out, they adjusted practically overnight. A couple of my guy friends still call me "bro" from time to time, but I give them a nice little bout of PMS (Pronoun Mistake Sass) to remind them very quickly.

I'm glad that my genetics came more from my mother's side than my father's - I'd be one goofy-lookin' gal if it were the other way around!  :eusa_dance:

And I'm grateful beyond words to have found Susan's place...I still haven't thanked Alexis enough for sending me here. Without her, I wouldn't even know this place existed. You all are awesome!  :icon_hug: :icon_hug: :icon_hug: :icon_hug: :icon_hug:

I love this idea!
Transition for me has been outright fun with little to no hiccups. People tell me I'm the most positive person they've met. I've tried to, from day 1 of transition to be positive, to not lay blame for who I am, to not feel sorry, and to not make excuses.
For me, transition began six years ago - HRT, living full time and name change within months.
But a couple positive stories, not in chronological order, but stories that are memories:
1. first job I applied to - nervous as hell, but I still rememebr meeting with the owners of a telecom consulting company. I was applying for their head of sales position. What they said they liked about me, other than my credentials, was my ability to adapt to change. They liked that! I worked for the company for two years.
2. After coming out to my pastor, and prior to living full time, I felt embarrassed to come to church as the new me. 3 months later I recieved an email from my pastor. She said the elders had been wondering where I was and she told them of my transitioning. They unanimously wanted me back. And I returned  and it was the most wonderful day ever when everyone came up to hug me, shake my hand, congratulate me.
3. My current partner who proposed to me a few weeks ago. As a cop, these guys you'd think are all work, rigid. He's the sweetest guy. A few weeks ago he proposed to me. 1 year ago he claimed on his taxes a joint filing, I'm his beneficiary on life insurance, and his dad loves me.

So those are three right off the top examples of things that make me smile.

Hi Everyone,
 
  I can say that now I am really enjoying my life for the first time in thirty six years.  I finally get to do all the things I love to do with out the fear of someone suspecting anything. And the fact that I am no longer harboring a secret is great in itself. I am also excited about my life starting over and all the great changes ahead.

Hugs,
Britney

Nice idea!

I have also been lucky when it comes to my transition. My parents have always been very open minded people. While it has obviously taken them time to adjust (especially my dad at first), they ultimately just want me to be happy. My brother had a hard time at first, which surprised me considering he is in the same generation as I am where LGBT has been more accepted. His girlfriend has helped him out a lot though. She has become like my sister in many ways. Now my family (my parents, brother, and his girlfriend- we all live together) accepts me whole heartedly. They use male pronouns and my preferred name.

I go see a wonderful therapist. She has helped me in numerous ways. My mom takes me to the appointments and always comes in at the end. So my therapist and my mom have become familiar with one another and get along well. She has helped my mom and dad through the process. As my mom said, "I had to grieve the loss of my daughter to embrace the gain of my son."

My friends are very accepting. I am lucky enough to live in an area where being gay is not a big deal. Being transgender is pretty accepted. I know a few other transfolks. I know plenty of LGB people too. My school has a lot of them. The Gay Straight Alliance club really helped me be more comfortable in my identity. Now all my teachers use my preferred name and my classmates for the most part. Some use my preferred name and say she however, but that's a minor thing. I am not bullied and lucky for that. My school is accommodating. I can use the nurse's bathroom and am in the co-ed gym class.

I started testosterone two months ago. I am glad because I'm young as far as transition goes. I turned 18 recently and am in good shape. Although I missed being a boy growing up, I was never forced to act feminine or anything. I was given freedom to make my own choices of my friends, clothes, and what I played with. Also I will be able to live my entire adult life as a man and I now have both male and female perspectives.

This experience has helped and will help me grow considerably. I would not be who I am if I was not transgender.

Most definitely!  I LOOOVE my life. I give thanks everyday to my Creator for having placed me on this wonderful earth.  It's been and continues to be, one wonderful ride! There's been a few downers but those little events only served as small reminders of what life is all about and more importantly to highlight the grand beauty I have experienced in my life to date. I've never let my physical situation stop me from anything. I've experienced two wonderful marriages (of which the first really does not count because I was so young). Currently, I am married to a loving, caring man who I consider God's gift to me and as sure as the sun rises, we know we will see each other into our old age and beyond. Growing up was fairly easy, being in school was no big deal, and I began my correct physical puberty at 13 alongside my sisters thanks to my mother, sisters, friends and family doctors. I have a good education, developed wonderful friendships along life's path. Jobs and a career have been easy to obtain. I was blessed with great genes and a positive aura. When I was younger, I had to literally shoo away men and now in my late 50's - I still shoo away men -- haha.  As of recently, I began exploring the transgender forums to see if I missed anything, but from what I read I guess I did not. But I have learned a thing or two should anyone need input or just needs a sounding board.

I hope to have my corrective surgery one day, but there is no hurry because it's never really posed any issue (when there is one, its quickly corrected).  I've always wished everyone I come in contact with a long happy healthy life, because my outlook is a positive one where there is nothing insurmountable.

Thank you Jenny for starting this thread. Reading the responses has really lightened my day.