hi folks been away for a while, but hopefully i will be able to stick around now. the situation that i am facing right now has really started to get to me. the good part is that i am back in school, the bad part is that after months of slowly starting to come out more and more, and being alot truer to my feminine self. because of the pressures of work, school and sharing living space with new people. i have started to retreat back into that closet again, i feel as if i am abandoning the side of myself that i have worked hard to bring out

Hi Jaylynne,

I was able to suppress my gender issues pretty well when I had to.  They would always come back, of course, but there were times when I just wasn't able to express them in any way.  I don't know if it was healthy, but I felt it necessary at times.

For me (YMMV), my gender issues were only part of who I am.  Your gender affects almost every aspect of your life, but there are times when I felt I had to work on other facets and force my GID to stew in the background, so to speak.

Take care of what you need to take care of now.  You can take care of the other stuff later.  This is a long and bumpy road.  Don't worry about taking a rest or small detour now and then.

- Kate

I came out as transgender in 2005 while in college. I didn't reveal it to my classmates and instructors but was able to  maintain a good balance of masculine and feminine. When I graduated things took off as I was able to be more open.

Gennee