"How's it going. What've you been up to? Got weekend plans?"
Let's see. As far as how's it going, I could tell you I've got GID. There are probably a few other things going on, but it's hard to think of them because the GID is there 24/7. Even when I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm aware of just how done I am with people not being able to see me as a woman.
I could tell you that last night was spent removing all the body hair from my ears, nose, neck, throat, and any other areas that might show from underneath women's clothes. I'm even shaving two inches above and below my belt line in case my top rides up or my pants ride down. Oh, and I plucked my eyebrows.
Weekend plans? I could tell you I'm going to put on a wig, fake breasts, and makeup to cover my beard shadow and go into the city to attend my Transgender Support Group. I'll spend the evening with a bunch of people who don't really know me all that well, but they're supportive and know what I'm going through, and it's the only place I go nowadays where I feel remotely like me.
I'd like to be able to tell you these things because it's the reality of my life and leaving them out would be painting a picture that wouldn't be close to real. It would be insincere and ungenuine and would leave you not knowing me any more than you do right now. Skipping these details would continue my isolated state, where I feel like none of the people I spend my day with, coworkers and acquaintances have the slightest idea who I really am.
But I suspect you wouldn't really want to hear about all that. I've been growing my fingernails long for a month and nobody has commented, though I'm pretty sure lots have noticed since they're to the point where they're hard to miss. If I were female bodied, I'm sure you would have commented by now, gushing about how nice they look (even if you didn't think so) and talking about your own. But because I wear a male body (not out of choice, I assure you), everyone avoids the topic like the plague.
How I long to open up to you and the others, to tell you what's really going on with me, to answer your questions about what it's like, to walk around with the feeling that people really know me, really know how I feel. How wonderful it would be to have the people around me, whom I like and whose company I appreciate, share my journey.
"Not much. Same old stuff. You?"
*Sigh*