[Marina Kits]

If I would have read last spring what Patti posted, I would have been very conflicted and probably agreed that I should be getting counseling. I was torn up inside and very confused to say the least. I wasn't sure what I was and certainly didn't want to reveal my inner thoughts and feelings to anyone I knew personally because of the embarrassment and shame it would cause me. Now however, and thanks much to this forum, I don't feel like I need counseling at all. I know who I am. I can honestly say, I LIKE who I am (with the exception of my body) and I am even willing to be honest with others about the true me albeit, very cautiously. I'm still a little fuzzy about which adjective is most appropriate to describe me but I'M not ashamed to wear the TS or TG badge. As you all know, my wife is fully aware of the real me but I've also talked to my pastor about it and I'm trying to participate in a community group that would "expose" me to the general public.

All that said, I'm still not willing to literally have "Transsexual" embroidered on my blouse and wear skirts to work. Why? Because I'm not an, in-your-face kind of person, I don't want that to define me, those around me aren't ready for it and I'm not convinced any good would come of it for them or myself. I'd rather seize the little opportunities I have with those I encounter to gently introduce them to the real me and do what I can to open their minds to reasonable, ordinary people like me who feel like they're in the wrong body. It's easy for them to be a bigot when they don't personally know someone, when that someone sticks it in their face or acts in a stereotypical way. But if they've always known me and slowly come to realize who I really are, I think it's pretty hard for them to retain their calloused attitude towards me and me fellow transsexuals (or transgenders).