I am 26 and I honestly feel like I'm 16.  Not only do I want to look like im 16, I never got to do any of the stuff that teen girls do, like make a best girlfriend, shop, have fun, go on my first date, have a first boyfriend...

I'm not at all where a 26 year old woman might be.  Job?  I never had one.  My idea of a job right now is going to the mall and getting a job in retail.  Career?  Never had a job.  Family?  I've never been on a date how am I going to have a husband and three kids by the time I'm 30? 

I'm planning to go full time before the end of the year- after a ton of FFS, I get hair transplants, hair extensions, waiting for my breasts to grow... and like when that all starts, I'm so torn...

Do I want to dress like a professional woman in blouses and skirts and try and act all mature like I know the ways of the world... or is it okay for me a teenage girl a little bit and totally shop at American Eagle or the juniors section?  Will people look at me Like im "13 going on 30" because that is honestly how im going to be be... Just like Jenna Rink.

I mean I'm more a shy teenage girl than a confident career woman really... can anybody help me out??!?!

Do you what you want and dress how you want, because you only live once.. that is the best advice  i could give you. I am going to turn 23 in a few months and i asked myself the same question as you. I too didn't really have the chance to do the things you mentioned because of my GID and other reason's.  You aren't even that old and you can dress however you want as long as you can pull it off well hun.

I almost 22 but I feel like I am about 15, I dress like a teenage girl, I also feel like my emotional development hit a wall when I was like around 15 or so, cause I was in the wrong gender, but once I got on Estrogen I started to feel more mature. I feel like parts of me are more mature than others. I am trying to push my DJ career further and get to a point where I can make some money and pay for my SRS.

Age is really just a number. thats all it is.

I definitely feel that way, to be honest. Not only have I not had a normal female life, I've not had a normal life, because of issues that generally extend from either trans issues or general body image issues, so I'm really behind on the life experience most people have by my age. 

I've never had a job yet either and it's the source of a lot of anxiety for me, but anyway, I think when looking for one it is probably best to dress your age and save the reliving adolescence for your free time.

you I feel like 18-19

I feel like that too sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if it's cause I'm some sort of manchild but I guess I got a late start.

You still had experience before now.
Do what you want todo to be fulfilled that is all that matters, but maybe try to consider the lessons you learned and small moments you enjoyed growing up. I know that it's hard, but we can't travel back in time and live different lives, so we might as well make the best of the memories we've been able to make until transition. 

I'm just going to throw in that growing old is mandatory.. growing up is optional..

No not really although when I was working at my local supermarket as a shelf stacker I noticed a similar feeling that I hadn't really felt since I was in secondary school.

Ie: I had to get up a Retarded-O-Clock (4:30am) put on a goofy looking uniform Haul myself to an immensely boring and tedious environment. Pretend I was an idiot lest I make trouble for myself. Do monotonous tedious tasks, forced to work with unpleasant people who dislike you for no knowable reason, And be lectured to by idiots who clearly don't know what they are talking about but were given authority over you and use said authority to mistreat/ignore you in favour of there own personal gain.

I did wonder if this miserable workplace was a place to experience my teenage years.

My teenage years sucked... And revisiting them sucks.
Me and my friends have the same opinion as were all similar ages we are supposed to be adults however honestly it only ever feels like your play acting it.

It seems a reasonable notion to me that if we have "female areas" in our brains, they might only wake up and start developing when they finally get the right hormone combination ?
And/or - introducing a totally different hormone balance is just as much of a new experience to the system as it was when puberty hit us the first time.

I'm 57 and yes, have felt strong aspects of adolescence, especially in the first 2 years HRT.

Being a nearly 60 year old adolescant is damned weird!     And yes, I yearn for the teens I missed as a girl

I have to say yes in a good and bad way.

It's good to have the spirit of a younger person.
It's bad to have the immaturity comparable to a younger person.

Unfortunately, I have seen a lot more on the "immaturity" level in the trans community rather than the "free spirit" sometimes associated to younger people.

I am almost 38. I feel like I am in my early 20s. I feel that my "spirit" is in my twenties, but I make sure my maturity level is not singing down in the teenage range.

Hope that makes sense!

Hi Julianne,

Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
At the tender young age of 26, there is plenty of time to make girl friends. I'm a LOT older than that, and an making some absolutely wonderful, genuine, mature friendships with women of integrity. Sure, there are lots of things I missed out on, not growing up with the right nurturing, but I can't go back. What I can do, is take that knowledge forward and make the most out of my future with it.

Your thoughts of being married with children by thirty, sounds good. Two years for your HRT to kick in and have completed your GCS, then two years to find Mr. Right and form a lasting relationship. Not impossible. It's been done before. With the correct attitude, anything can be accomplished. So you miss the 30 YO deadline but make it at 32. No need to worry. You got the job done. Now you simply have the rest of your life to enjoy it. Lucky you.

Give yourself a bit of space. The HRT you've just started is going to be affecting your brain fairly soon. Dormant estrogen receptors in your brain are going to be brought to life pretty soon, and you need to be aware your thought patterns and outlook may rapidly change to a very feminine approach, which  may propel you into your dreams of marriage etc, sooner than you think. Just be open to it, and don't dwell on the past. The past is exactly that. Past. Gone. Like a spent cheque. You can't use it again. Keep moving forward, and embrace your future. It's the only thing you have.

To answer your question. "Do I want to dress like a professional woman in blouses and skirts and try and act all mature like I know the ways of the world... or is it okay for me a teenage girl a little bit and totally shop at American Eagle or the juniors section? "  If you want to grow into a professional woman and to be mature like you know the ways of the world. Dress and act like one, until you become one. On the other hand if you want to be a 30 year old teenage girl, dress and act like one. The choice is yours. In the long run, what would you be most happy, being?

Be safe, well and happy.
Lotsa huggs
Catherine

QuoteI'm planning to go full time before the end of the year- after a ton of FFS, I get hair transplants, hair extensions, waiting for my breasts to grow... and like when that all starts, I'm so torn...

I have worked since I was able to, and there is now way that I could afford a full clearing of my face, and FFS in one year, and I work FT with a mediocre salary, but good in this economy for a 22 year old.

What is your financial plan? Perhaps, I will glean some insight on how I can get enough $ for FFS faster.

@ the very beginning(still beginning), when I first started to figure out what I needed to do to be okay with my life. Started doing my first experimental RLE, I was incredibly adolescently impulsive. However, that waned in a few months as I got more and more practical (clothes, hair, makeup, general mannerisms, and attitude)

@ work I am(still) the my former male self that, at this point, is a fairly one dimensional protective shell around my newfound feminine worldview. My Co-workers think I'm 3-7 years older than I am, not because of looks, but because of my relative maturity, and knowledge level for my age and my birth gender. So, as a male I am "ahead" of my age because of my success, however unwanted. Conversely, I feel less mature as a female because I have not learned as many lessons or completed any confidence building life milestones. Once some of those things happen, I know that it wil be a catalyst for mature growth.

Yes ,I think It is common, I feel like I am 15! I also just want to be a teenager,be free, wild and irresponsible, lol. But I am a 28 year old woman with a wife, daughter and a career. So it is just not possible. I have to be responsible, I didn't get to live a teenage life as a boy nor as a girl, I was a teenage dad. I had to grow up quick and provide for my new family. 

Its Second Puberty. estrogen brings on a second puberty like feeling which is actually probly because lots of us had miserable teen years and didn't get into the same stuff our peers did in their puberties.