Well it has certainly helped me. I have attended conferences and kept in touch, traveled across this country to meet some people I met here, attended local support groups and texted and talked endlessly. I still do and this is why.
I knew nobody and understood very little when dysphoria ended my life as a going concern. I was scared, I didn't know where to turn, and I thought that my life was going to end alone, lost, and endlessly sad. The connections that I began to make with people gave me hope, but for me it is absolutely essential to hold the hands of my new friends, look into their eyes and tell them that I cherished their experience, believed in them, and looked to them for wisdom.
Somehow this network became a life foundation and I could see that even love was a possibility for one even such as I. Seeing your trouble helped me to become active and to speak out in both private and public venues. I was asked to speak before students at a local college. I found that as I studied and found my own voice that I became a useful resource. I became willing to go to where ever I could make a difference and to experience your joy as we together became whole.
All this happens with personal contact. I don't much care if you pass as the gender that you identify with. I don't much care how long you've been in transition. I want to know your story and I want to hear it from you lips and feel it in your embrace. I came here feeling lonely, different and afraid. Six years later I feel empowered and confident. We need each other and we need to be in each others lives in tangible ways. That is the fear killer. That is the foundation of an authentic life.
Peace,
JB
