Hello all the folks in the Transfem community!
I thought that it might be a nice idea to do an introduction myself after coming over in the great reddit migration and being inspired by posts from Rose, bee, Catherine, LadyAutumn, and Ada (and anyone I may have missed). Also big thanks to LadyAutumn for moderating this community and Ada for being an admin for lemmy.blahaj.zone!
So, hello, my name is Valerie and I'm a high school teacher. I'll be 42 in a few months and I tend to be a bit reserved and quiet until I get to know people, then I'm sometimes difficult to quiet down. (I'll admit that I was only ever a lurker on reddit so, this post is sort of big deal for me.) I live in the U.S. but in one of the good states for trans people, although in a not great town. However, I just got a new job in a great city and I'll be moving by the end of next month! So yay!
It was actually seeing some of my students coming out and being so brave and honest about who they really were, despite potential backlash from peers, parents, and the community, that made me think "Why the hell am I hiding myself?" since I had know for over 10 years at that point that I was a trans woman. I definitely did the whole denial routine about being trans in the first place and then that dysphoria wasn't really that bad, and then that I could still live as man, until I finally realized I just couldn't anymore. So, I decided to leave that job (where I was certain that such a move would be unacceptable) and began my transition almost 2 years ago. (My transiversary will be July 31.)
In my spare time, I love to read all kinds of books, though my favorite genres are sci-fi and fantasy but, I love to jump around, fiction or nonfiction, serious or silly, it's all great. Like I said, I love to read. I also play a fair number of PC games, though I'm mostly a single player gal, as I've always been fairly shy in my personal life, as I mentioned.
Additionally, I thought it might not be a bad idea to include some pictures (as a couple of the subreddits that inspired me before and when I began transitioning were transtimelines and TransLater), just to show folks, at whatever age/stage of life they're transitioning, what's possible. So, here's a couple before shots from almost 4 years ago (note that denial beard):
And here's last weekend after getting back from my first ever Pride (I bought the necklace there.):
And one more bonus pic from 6ish months ago, just because I feel like I accidentally nailed a semi-sexy eyebrow raise:
So, I guess I'll wrap up by telling you all how much I appreciate you and this community for making me feel brave enough to post for the first time. And, to tell anyone and everyone that no matter where you are in your transition or even if you haven't yet decided whether transition is right for you that you are enough, you are loved, and you are perfect. <3
Hi everybody! I'm Valerie, (I did a whole intro over on Transfem if you want to check that out), I'm 41, be 42 in a few months, I'm in the U.S. originally from one of the not great states. I live in Colorado now though, actually about to move cities here at the end of the month for a new job. And, I'm pretty reserved at first, I like to take in a situation and people through observation quietly when you first meet me. However, once I get to know folks, I am usually joyful and VERY talkative. (As will become obvious if you know me, I'm prone to being long winded. It's a problem. I've had to learn through great personal difficulty how and when to be concise.)
I'm a teacher so obviously I love working with students, seeing them grow and learn and just be their amazing selves! In my free time, I love to read so, I do a lot of that. I just finished Andy Weir's Hail Mary, before that The Book Thief, Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed, The Word for World is Forest, The Left Hand of Darkness, Lisa Klein's Ophelia, The Priory of the Orange Tree, Hood Feminism, and I could keep going but you probably get the idea. I also really enjoy video games, please don't judge, and I have a Steam Deck, since GOG had a deal I bought the Yakuza series and have started my way through Yakuza 0, looking forward to playing through them all.
I feel like I'm navigating much better now. I left a prior teaching job the summer before my 40th birthday, knowing that they would not be comfortable with me transitioning, and tutored for about a year before the leadership their realized I was trans and dismissed me (though naturally that wasn't the reason given.) I had really struggled this last year to find a new job and went through my savings, finally my parents had to help me out BUT, I got a new teaching position with an awesome and inclusive school, which I start at the end of this month. I'm very excited about pursuing this new opportunity in a new town where people will only ever know the real me, you know? ๐ It's a lot so, ask me again next year and I may finally feel like I've gotten everything together. ๐
As for a question, hmm, well, I guess I'd like to know about other folks relationships, if they're in one or not and if their partner(s) knew/met them before transition and how navigating those personal relationships have been, what challenges you all faced if any. Now, I get off light here since I'm single and have been for a quite awhile. (I knew I was trans long before I actually transitioned, even if I didn't have the vocab for it early on.) I just didn't think it was fair to a potential partner (or myself for that matter) to start seeing anyone while I was maintaining a false outward presentation and I've got so much else going on since starting transition, including transition itself that I'm just not in a place for a relationship yet. So, I think that wraps it all up. I've really loved hearing from folks on the fediverse already and I'm looking forward to talking with all you beautiful folks here on TransLater as well! ๐ฅฐ