Completing the picture

Today I have never been more relaxed or assured in my female presentation. It took many years to get here from being petrified to buy pantyhose in a dress at age 21 to today having an increasing number of people not know I am transgender.

The last few years saw more progress despite me thinking I was already there. I chalk that up to retirement allowing me to fine tune the psyche while releasing the stress of career. Also, reaching and surpassing the boiling point of what others think helped me immeasurably.

Because I decided to not medically transition I stick with the nomenclature of transgender person. The philosophical discussions one can have over this don't interest me anyway since what I was always looking for was a comfortable and peaceful existence as myself which I have accomplished. The rest can sometimes fall into sophistry created for one's bragging rights which isn't really all that useful to our internal balance.

In the end, people should do what feels right to them but I feel strongly that a transgender identity requires elevating and maturing to the same level of other aspects of our lives. My inability to fully do that is what kept my identity at an incomplete level of development plus some remaining stigma encouraged continued secrecy until I came to fully embrace who I am.