Hi All.

This is the first time I've Posted Here!

My new life started on Christmas day that's when I realized and admitted to myself that I no longer wanted to be male but I was'nt sure If I wanted to be female either. I just knew that being a make was'nt right. My soon to be ex wife always wondered about me she knew of my propensity to wear panties as well as tights and panty hose before we even got engaged she was cool with it and I was thrilled because I no longer had to hide it, but that's another story.

A few weeks after Christmas I started seeing a therapist and I had moved out of the house back into my original house that is now my home! I did have a rough time of it at first dealing with the loss of my wife and the emotional turmoil of being trans-gendered. After about a month of seing a therapist I decided that this is what I wanted and told my therapist that this was going to be the last time that she would ever see me as a male and I dove into womanhood head first and I didn't care how deep or shallow the water was.

After two more months of therapy she Decided it was time for me to join a group therapy that she held bi-monthly I was excited I would finally meet others like myself. My first group meeting went well but I was extremely disappointed I had thought that because I was transitioning so well that there would be others like me there as well. When I got there it was hard to walk around all the baggage these women brought along with them much less find a seat. The imagined bell hop's were lined up outside as well as inside. I didn't understand why these women who had been transitioning much longer than I had had so many issues about transitioning.

To me it was simple make a decission and stick with it. You either is or you aint for me there was no middle ground no grey area. To this day I don't understand why it's so hard for people to transition, I realize that there are several factors involved socio economic and so on. But if you choose to transition then transition don't look back and deal with your situation make the best of what you have.

I own and operate a small automotive repair facility and I knew that I would loose some clients based simply on their ignorance but I also knew that I would keep a lot more. I had and still have a reputation of Honesty and Integrity and repairing my clients vehicle right the first time, I had very few (Come Backs) but I did have a lot of repeat business. My clients accepted the fact that I was transitioning and for the most part they had no problems with it. Many of my clients did ask me if I planned on closing the business because I would eventually become a women (With surgery) and I emphatically said no! This was my chosen profession and I saw no reason to change it.

I live full time as a woman I've been on HRT for about seven months. My Family does not approve of my discission and I really dont care we were never close to begin with and I only see them once a year. Because I am doing this for myself what other people think is irrelevant to me.

Society as a whole is much more tolerant than it used to be and that makes transitioning much easier as a whole. My point in all of this is, if your are transitioning then transition don't look back! leave the baggage behind you as well and be the best damn woman you can be dress age appropriate and always look your best even if your just going to the corner store to buy smokes, when you look like and act like woman people will treat you as such and for the most part leave you alone! If your in your thirties or forties as I am dont dress like a teenager dress your age if you look like a fool you'll be treat as one.

Ive seen transgendered women dress so inappropriately wearing clothing that would make a hooker think twice and then go out in public and then can't figure out why they continuously get ridiculed. Transitioning can be so easy if you just use the grey matter between your ears and think before you act.

Tell me what you think and how you feel.

Welcome and thanks for posting.

Congratulations on finding your path in life and making the transition go smooth for you.

As to the other "transitioners" (a word?) and their extra "baggage", everyone has their own life story, family issues, family relationships, personal issues, inner demons and more. And each is unique to the person despite the common goal of transitioning. More power to you for making your transition so smooth. One thought here is instead of being critical of other's transitioning issues and baggage, exercise some compassion and understanding for each of our life's story is different. Befriend some of these folks and maybe you can help make their path smoother.

Cheers

Ron

It's not that I'm not compassionate to what others have gone through or what they are going through, my thought process is simple. Since you have chosen to transition leave the vestiges of your past behind you. Embrace your new life and then enjoy the changes that come with that choice. Don't shy away from your discission simply because of fear of the unknown, it simply doesn't matter what others think so long as you the individual are happy this may be a narcissistic view. But if you live your life for others than you can never live your life for yourself.

It's also understood that a persons past makes them who they are today. but if you able to separate the good from the bad you can remake yourself into the person that you were meant to be and the person you want to be.

But in order to accomplish this, one must dive in head first accepting what you are and then affect the changes to make you who you are. As is the case with me I'm a Female trapped in a male body.

The point in all of this is for those of us that have made the discission to transition, then transition or in the least go as far as you can. Meaning the farther you go the more determined you'll become to affect your goals and the easier it will become to reach them. Conversely you may find that on your journey you may find that transitioning is not your goal but in the process you'll have learned more about your self than you could have other wise if that becomes the case then I applaud you for trying but more over I applaud you for having the strength of character to learn more about yourself. Transitioning is a journey into one self in as much as it is learning who you are. Not just changing ones sex. As for me learning who I am is an avenue to learning what I can become as a person. If you can wrap yourself around that concept and not fear what you may learn then transitioning can become as easy as putting on a pair of shoes!

Hi there!

Been there, done that, as they say.

I grew up feeling "different" inside and it took many years before I discovered exactly what it was. Today, I am a couple of months past my 62nd birthday, and have been living full time a woman since August 1996. Been hospitalized three times in this period---The hospital staff were more concerned about my health and getting me well than the fact I was Transgendered.

Also, I have been to my 35th and 40th high school reunions, and am now making plans for the 45th coming up in 2009. THAT is a big step! For the most part I was welcomed. Funny thing, in school there were people I never got a chance to talk to because we were in diffenent clicques. At the reunions these people came to me, talked to me, asked questions. A few of the high school beauties even gave me some hugs...something that would never have happened back in the early 60s.

And, this was a small school in a small town (6000 pop.). What a change several years make.

I wish you luck on your journey. There will be ups and downs, but with your attitude, you will survive it!

Byeee!

Gerri