How did your life/you change when you began to accept yourself?

I'm still trying to accept myself as trans* but overall, definitely beginning to notice a difference. Feels like a huge weight's off my shoulders and I finally feel like I know who I am. I spent my life trying to distance me from my body and the world and now that I know transition's an option, I feel like I can finally live my life the way I was meant to.

 

I had accepted myself a while ago, long before I knew of this forum. But this forum inspired me to come out to my mom, and since then, I have been so much happier and more relieved, which she has even noticed.

 

I haven't accepted myself 100%, but I'm definitely better than I was. I've become more optimistic about my future prospects. I used to think that there was no hope for me finding love or being happy (which, looking back, was a bit melodramatic), but now I'm hopeful that I can have those things too.

 

After I accepted myself as trans*, I'm a way happier person. I feel like a huge burden had been lifted, because I finally was able to understand what I had been going through my whole life and I wasn't alone.

 

It changed because even through all the problems I had, through all the heartbreak and sadness I felt, even through the loneliness and the ruts, I know that I'm heading in the direction I'm supposed to be. It doesn't feel like I'm not living my own life. For the good or the bad, it's all me. I'm not acting from what I'm supposed to do, or acting for someone else. I'm just acting like me.

I'm allowed to fall in love. With all the crap that falling in love has come with, I wouldn't trade it for all the safety and security in the world. That freedom of being in love is both uplifting and scary, and nothing in the world can replicate it. When I look into her eyes, and think about us together, I remember that I'm not trapped. I'm allowed to love whomever I want, and no church, adult, or society can stop me. When I'm in love, I know that I'm free.

 

When I finally started to accept myself, I started to realize some things. When I looked around I noticed that I was trying too hard to fit in and not trying to be myself and surround myself with people who like me.
I changed all of that around mid-January. I started hanging with people who like me for ME, even though they didn't know I was gay. Now I've told them and everything has changed, in a good way

 

I learned how to be more accepting of things that are different from me.

I became a lot nicer and a lot gentler according to my friends as I tried to hide whatever I was away behind a wall of words which were harsh and mean. I absolutely did not want to talk about love and I hid it away as much as possible and I hated the aspect of love and always dismissed it as temptation or the work of the devil.

Ever since I came out I found myself looking at things from a more different angle, I often find myself looking at things as being beautiful in their own ways. I also started loving things the way they are, a lot of things, even couples or whatnot, young, old, nice, bitchy, they're all beautiful to me. I've also found myself being much more relaxed and generous with my money, paying taxi fees for others when I can, paying for their lunch if they're short, it doesn't hurt to give.

There is a negative (perhaps short-term) effect is that I've become really easy to hurt and vulnerable to myself and others. I've realised, at least for now, I don't have many friends, that I'm actually more alone than I thought I was. Also, love has clouded my judgement and my brain, because that's pretty much all I think about nowadays... even during a crisis of my mind, I think about love... Love is everywhere now haha, it's just not manifested into something metaphorically tangible for me yet.

 

I loved myself and generally everything around me more. I became more accepting and loving of different people around me and I was just more pleasant as a person. I also just didn't care what anyone else thought anymore. I am me. I am here. I am who I am. It took a while to get there and it wasn't easy, but I'm happy I made it.

 

before I came out I was stressing a bit was worried how certain people would react. when It did happen @16 I was stressing even more it took me a few months to fully accept myself. I really wish I had know about EC back then would have made life a lot easier for me .

 

When I accepted myself I learned to be happy with being myself, and that I'll have loving and supporting friends who will help me through thought times.

 

Now that I'm accept myself, I'm more happy and comfortable with myself. I feel really good and proud

 

My entire world changed. Everything. It sounds cliche, but everything was so much clearer and I really started wanting to make something out of myself. I was happy and real and so very free. But the world became different because suddenly, it was against me. I was different. There were definitely bad things and complications but accepting myself has been a journey to self-discovery in more ways than just my sexual orientation. It's amazing, really, how well I know myself now. I'm glad I faced this head on.

 

I didn't even seem to be bothered that much by the fact that I happen to be a homosexual. Not to say I didn't have my struggles here and there. I quickly learnt that it was normal, there was nothing to be ashamed of and you can't change it. The thing that really got to me was a lot of the bullying that happened to me, it was so bad that realizing that I happen to be a homosexual didn't even compare to the pain I was going through at that stage.

 

It didn't change much, because i accepted it pretty early on, but it couldn't erase my fears of how others would react. Had it allowed me to start dating or come out safely, it would have been a huge change. Alas...

 

When I accepted myself I became a little more confident. Before, I used to hide from my true feelings, now I know what I like and I am happy with myself.

 

I am not VERY different from who I was prior to coming out, but several friends have told me I'm much happier in general.

I point out the occasional cute guy in public and relish the freedom I feel.

I stand up for people who are an ally or an LGBT friend. I don't sit idle and allow someone to be bullied. No way, no how.

The only negative I can think of, is now that I am out I long for a relationship and that sometimes wears me down to the point where I become "love exhausted" and don't want to even think about it anymore. I just feel so incredibly lonely because now the closet has been taken down, there is nothing stopping me from getting a boyfriend. So close, but so far. So in that regard, I wasn't as hungry for a relationship prior to coming out because I knew it was impossible.

 

I definitely became more confident in myself, especially round my friends. The topic of my sexuality definitely keeps on coming up, all of my friends are LGBT allys and are very supportive, and it's nice to have the joky discussions about it, because it shows me that it just doesn't matter. They accept me, and that's what matters.

It's also brought me closer to a certain few friends, who have helped me out a lot along the way. I feel like I'm not lying to them anymore, and I especially feel that way towards my parents. It was killing my inside knowing that I was hiding something relatively major from them. Now I'm out, although I think they're still are coming to terms with it, it's increased the trust between us. It's not 100%, but I'm feeling far better inside.

 

Realising that I was part of a (very hated) minority group was a traumatic experience, that made me a better person in the long run. It taught me to be more assertive and confident, and also to not be indifferent to other people's plights.

 

I haven't yet but from these positive posts I have high hopes for my future !