Hi Ellie,

  See? I still luvs ya! I'd go for making contact if you had a good relationship with he. I doubt it would be unwelcome.

Hugs,
  Laurie

Wow so much going on in your thread and I haven't had the time lately to chime in.

Willing settings a good bit the first time.  Exfoliate your skin first. It will help too reduce irritation.  I like to wipe alcohol over the area right before to sanitize.  The white bumps you may get are a histamine reaction.  If it becomes problematic try popping a Benadryl about 30 min beforehand.  I typically follow up with witch hazel and then aloe vera.  The battery life can certainly be an issue.  The hairier you are the longer it takes.  It goes much faster after a few sessions if you keep up with it.  To help reduce pain make sure your skin is taut as you do an area.  That will reduce the amount of pulling and irritation.

You should totally reach out to the lady.  Worst case is you are wrong and send a quick sorry I was mistaken response.

I agree with Amberwaves that you should contact the prof.  Whether or not she is your childhood friend, the worst that could happen is that transgender studies fall within her remit and you become the subject of her research.  And anyway, what's wrong with that?

Gah, worked up the courage to message her on twitter but she has DMs disabled for people she doesn't follow (but I had to hit send to find that out, so...!). Trying to write an email now but I can't think of what subject line to use because... god subjects are awkward. Aaaaaaaaarghhhhhhhhh this is so awkward. I'm so awkward. Why am I so awkward? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

How about "remember the angry kid?" ... sorry I had to! I think it's cool you remember people and it seems you care about her enough to reach out. You never know where things may go

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I did it I sent the email and now I'm so nervous and freaking out. Why am I so bad at peopling?

OH! ALSO!! I totally wore my women's jeans and a pink hat today out of the house. Stopped short of full on obvious blouse, but... yeah. So I've now been outside partially dressed in public, that's something.

Quote from: Roll on April 23, 2018, 09:20:50 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I did it I sent the email and now I'm so nervous and freaking out. Why am I so bad at peopling?

OH! ALSO!! I totally wore my women's jeans and a pink hat today out of the house. Stopped short of full on obvious blouse, but... yeah. So I've now been outside partially dressed in public, that's something.

   Why? Because you haven't been doing it Ellie. It takes a bit of effort. One of the things I began doing is to acknowledge the people that serve me in some way. Cashiers, waitresses, others that perform what most people consider nameless thankless jobs. They all seem to have name tags on and I look at those names and use them when I talk to them even if it is just a thank you. These are people too and are not nameless. Using their names let them know you paid enough attention to get their names and acknowledges their existence. Thanking them shows them they are appreciated for the service they provide. What it does for me is makes me aware that these people perform a service for me and that, my dear, deserves a thank you. It is a very little way to begin peopleing.

  Good for Ellie on getting out into the world a little! It is a beginning girl. Ellie is so pale she needs her time out in the sun.  Set her free.

Hugs,
   Laurie

My mom worked as a waitress before teaching, and so treating people in service jobs with nothing but gratitude and respect was ingrained in me from an early age I'm proud to say. The staff at the Huddle House here was basically family.

My issue is more the ... peer interaction I guess you'd call it? Breaking the ice for sure a big part of it, once I get talking I'm fine. (Well, at least with one or two people.) I'm just so constantly terrified I'm bothering people and imposing on them, it's pure social anxiety. But I'm trying! Hence the accepting the other friend's request and then emailing the person tonight!

Quote from: Roll on April 23, 2018, 09:20:50 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I did it I sent the email and now I'm so nervous and freaking out. Why am I so bad at peopling?

OH! ALSO!! I totally wore my women's jeans and a pink hat today out of the house. Stopped short of full on obvious blouse, but... yeah. So I've now been outside partially dressed in public, that's something.

Ellie, you are exactly where I was just eight months ago, an eyeblink in our lifetimes. I so clearly remember my first walk out to the mailbox in full girl mode. Ducking down in the passenger seat while my wife drove us out of the neighborhood on the way to a trans support gathering. Getting dressed in the car, and reverting to male mode before we got home.

I spoke my truth, I followed and emulated new heroes, I shared with and learned from new and deeply loved people in my life who were traveling the same road. One by one the walls fell, and now, while I still harbor a few fears, I project to the world a beautiful, confident woman, and I am the happiest I have ever been in my life.

You are so much younger and more beautiful than I could hope to be. You have a wonderful future in front of you, and it won't be long before you look back on these first steps and wonder why they were so hard. You've got this, girl. Welcome to your new world and your new happiness.


- Stephanie

Quote from: Roll on April 23, 2018, 09:20:50 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I did it I sent the email and now I'm so nervous and freaking out. Why am I so bad at peopling?

OH! ALSO!! I totally wore my women's jeans and a pink hat today out of the house. Stopped short of full on obvious blouse, but... yeah. So I've now been outside partially dressed in public, that's something.

Way to go girl! It wasn't that long ago I was unbelievably nervous about being even mildly social. I'm still a bit, but it's nowhere nearly as bad as it was.

Quote from: Roll on April 23, 2018, 09:37:33 PM
My issue is more the ... peer interaction I guess you'd call it? Breaking the ice for sure a big part of it, once I get talking I'm fine. (Well, at least with one or two people.) I'm just so constantly terrified I'm bothering people and imposing on them, it's pure social anxiety. But I'm trying! Hence the accepting the other friend's request and then emailing the person tonight!

I really relate to this.  The only time it really goes away is people I know very well and am friends with.

          Julie

I LIKE MY NEW SHIRT. Walmart for $4. Also this is the new $10 wig my sister loves.

Ignore the messy room, I am still cataloging stuff to sell and its a nightmare.

Quote from: Roll on April 24, 2018, 09:43:41 AM
Ignore the messy room, I am still cataloging stuff to sell and its a nightmare.

That's a great excuse!  I'll use it in the future.

You look great, by the way.

Quote from: Roll on April 24, 2018, 09:43:41 AM


I LIKE MY NEW SHIRT. Walmart for $4. Also this is the new $10 wig my sister loves.

Ignore the messy room, I am still cataloging stuff to sell and its a nightmare.

Cute shirt.  I love finding deals on clothes.  I never understood why women enjoyed it so much until I was one.  That's a pretty wig too.  It's hard to notice the messy room when there is a fabulous looking lady front and center [emoji16]

Quote from: Roll on April 24, 2018, 09:43:41 AM


I LIKE MY NEW SHIRT. Walmart for $4. Also this is the new $10 wig my sister loves.

Ignore the messy room, I am still cataloging stuff to sell and its a nightmare.

Ellie you look great! I have to agree with your sister on the wig and I love the shirt.

Quote from: Roll on April 24, 2018, 09:43:41 AM


I LIKE MY NEW SHIRT. Walmart for $4. Also this is the new $10 wig my sister loves.

Ignore the messy room, I am still cataloging stuff to sell and its a nightmare.

Ellie:  Very nice shirt... but more importantly, you look great in that picture... 
WOW, that is a lot of hair with that wig....  only $10 ... that is amazing!

Hmmm, the messy room is indeed messy ... and a nightmare for sure. 
It looks to me like you need a bigger room!

Good luck getting your stuff sold.  I am sure that the extra money will come in handy.
Hugs,
Danielle

You look amazing! Love the shirt. I agree with Amber, I wouldn't have even noticed the room if you hadn't mentioned it - not with such a pretty lady drawing the attention!

Well I think a good looking young lady should be going about in a nice blouse, it was easy for me as I didn't give a cr*p . Also know it would not cause a problem where I live. One day soon Ellie, dare you!!

I think I'm just slowly replacing clothing pieces one a time. First it was the underwear, then the socks. Now I've switched my hat over (necessary to hide thinning hair for now), changed fitbit band to this really cute rose colored metal band (it looks amazing, I love it), starting to wear the women's skinny jeans. Been putting on at least light makeup (BB cream). Going to see about getting some more practical women's shoes the next few days (good pair of women's nikes or something I can wear daily), just waiting on eye exam to order new glasses. Honestly at this point I'm pretty much just wearing fairly gender neutral t-shirts. It's literally just going to be a matter of working up the courage to wear the wig I guess.

Ellie you look cool  ! And so happy for you!!!
It's GREAT you grew up the courage to contact her!!!!!!
(Okay honestly I think you look hot  )