I prefer today

Transition is whatever you need it to be. For me it was 100% mental which is all I needed to live my best version of life. Admittedly I was fortunate to have genetics which helped.

That being said, I can completely understand the need for hormones and surgery but that is entirely up to you. You may find that taking small steps gets you to the right place and if satisfied you stop. There isn't one roadmap, there is only yours.

I have always counseled reflection before acting and once ready to move forward to take the smallest action possible to make sure it's right for you. If your quality of life improves then you know you have not erred.

Transgender people weren't able to medically transition until very recently in human history and yet we have been around for millennia. We had to find ways to deal with gender dysphoria often by grinning and bearing. Today things are different and gender variant youth can take advantage of a support infrastructure even I didn't have; one which also can make them prone to error. The percentages are not huge but they are there because not everyone takes the time to make sure.

Nevertheless I prefer today by leaps and bounds.