Hello, everyone!  I am Riley, amab, and I came out as bigender and transgender almost a year ago (last June).  It's been amazing since I came out, with a lot of depression and stress feeling like it was lifted straight off my shoulders.  I grew up in a very religious household (my father is a Baptist minister) and when I was still a young child and my parents found out I was questioning my gender and sexuality they lost their minds.  I'd never seen them so angry and I was afraid I'd be disowned and dropped off at an orphanage over it.  Looking back, I don't think they were quite that upset about it but to a child things tend to seem worse and I was absolutely terrified.  I burried everything, boxed it up and shoved it into the darkest, most unvisited corner of my mind, afraid to revisit anything to do with gender and sexuality for a very long time.  I considered myself asexual for a very long time simply because that made it easy to avoid having to deal with revisiting thoughts about my sexuality, which in turn would bring up thoughts about my gender. 

Finally, after years of repression, depression, anger, and denial, I finally found myself in a place in life where I felt safe enough to finally process through everything I'd been avoiding for so long.  My chosen family has supported me and helped me every step of the way, and without them I am not sure I'd still be here.  I've gotten bold enough to talk to one of my siblings about being transgender, and she is fully supportive (and turns out is gender-fluid herself).  Sadly, she and I don't feel we can talk to our parents about any of this, at least not at the current time.  I meet this week with a gender therapist to finally get my letter to start HRT, and I am very excited (and also very nervous because, change, lol).  I am very blessed to have a great support system where I live, and they are just as excited for me as I am for myself. 

I am a military veteran, and the VA is promising to help me with my transition somewhat (hormones and voice training, but not surgeries) though I am also pursuing things through the civilian channels as well (the gender therapist I'm seeing this week is not VA-connected).

Hi Riley,

Sounds like  you found the source of your depression and can now move forward. 

Congratulations.

Marion

@RileyWolf
Dear Riley:
     I am so very glad that you have become a member here and I am pleased to see that you found the Susan's Place Forums.   

     As you post on the forums you will be able to exchange thoughts and comments with others that are experiencing many of the same things that you are. 

    This is the right place for you to be to find out what others may have to say that may have been in your circumstances and with your questions and concerns.
    There are a lot of members here that will be able to identify with your situation and as you continue to feel free to share with all of us.

    I also want to warmly WELCOME you to Susan's Place. 
You will find this a safe and friendly place to share with others and to read about others similar trials, tribulations, and successes.

    As you are certainly aware you can share with others and involve yourself with some give and take with other like-minded members.  When frustrated or if you have successes you can share it here if you wish and receive support from others and offer support to others. ....
     ***There is a very good chance that you might find that you will make some new like-minded friends here. 

    Please come in and continue to be involved at your own pace.
   
    I have attached important and informative LINKS that will help you to navigate around the Forums and will allow you to enjoy the features here.     
Please look closely at the LINKS in RED, answers are there to many questions that new members ask.

Again, Welcome to Susan's Place.
Danielle

Here are some links to the site rules and stuff that all new members should be familiar with:
 

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By	Standard Terms & Definitions	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar)	Cautionary Note
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Hi Riley 

Welcome to Susan's Place    Glad to have you here, join on in the fun

Hugs

V M

Hi Riley, welcome to Susan's Place! Thank you for your service. Stop by our veterans thread Roll Call! if you have a chance. There are quite a few vets here. See you around the site!

Hugs, Devlyn

Hello Riley,

     Thank you for sharing your heart with us! It is so difficult to be from an evangelical background and be transgender. I am sorry to hear about your parents. I would like to chat more with you about this. You would be surprised how many people here are from an evangelical Christian background. If you don't mind, at some future point I will send you a personal message. Unfortunately, you won't be able to answer until you have fifteen posts here on Susan. You can check out my first post about my life as an evangelical and being transgender. My intro is titled: The Great Pretender. Hope to hear more from you.

Marsha

Thank you all for such a warm welcome!  I'll be sure to check out the Veteran's Roll Call thread!  And @MarshaJoy825 you are welcome to PM me, and once I've met the requirements I'll gladly read it and respond.