61/ I was SO nervous the other night on my second date with that adorably nerdy girl for all the same reasons. It's early, we're still getting to know each other, but I really like her. And so when I found out she hadn't known and it came as a surprise, I just winced and waited
-
Show this thread
-
62/ But she just sort of paused for a beat and thought about it and was like, "Huh. I've never dated a trans person before. But you're funny and smart and pretty and also I like you a lot. I... think I'm totally okay with that."
1 reply 1 retweet 11 likesShow this thread -
63/ And more and more this is the response I get from people as I open up. It's so... amazing. It feels really good to be authentic and not feel like I'm hiding anything and not have to think about neutral-coding pronouns of my ex-wife or my childhood when I talk about them.
1 reply 1 retweet 13 likesShow this thread -
64/ Because I really do think most people I come into contact with are kind, good people who really don't care who I am--it's a non-issue for them. I build it up to be so much bigger in my head than it has to be. Again, because shame.
1 reply 1 retweet 10 likesShow this thread -
65/ And like I said, I'm thrilled it's a non-issue. I want it to be something I don't hide but that also doesn't have to be like a major talking point for my life. I want it to be like anything else--an experience I talk about when it's relevant to the conversation.
1 reply 1 retweet 11 likesShow this thread -
66/ And frankly, I'm about to turn 35 here soon. I'm SO tired of living with shame about who I am. I was tortured by feeling awful about who I was for sooooo long and blamed myself and internalized all these bad feelings. My ex's very conservative family rejecting me did not help
1 reply 1 retweet 10 likesShow this thread -
67/ It's hard not internalizing bad feelings when your mother in law refuses to come to your wedding and you get routine challenges about the validity of the most important relationship in your life
1 reply 1 retweet 8 likesShow this thread -
68/ Anyway, this thread is too long already and I can unpack other aspects of this in other threads where I think it's appropriate to the subject matter For now, I just wanted to mention this and let this be a first little step where I'm allowing myself to not feel ashamed
1 reply 1 retweet 7 likesShow this thread -
69/ And also to give myself permission to be myself on Twitter and not have to hide this aspect of my history or identity. Because I kind of want to take my power back from those Twitch assholes who made me cry... just a little.
1 reply 1 retweet 15 likesShow this thread -
70/ It's okay to be who you are. It's great to be who you are! You can't do anything else anyway and still feel consistent and authentic. I want to feel and be authentic. As much as possible, for the rest of my life.
/thread5 replies 2 retweets 23 likesShow this thread
Brava!
you are so amazing. Thank you for sharing. It really gave me energy during my own struggles today! You are literal warmth! 
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.