I am new here so if i haven't written this right please forgive me. i am 58 and am transgender.i have known i was a girl since i was 5 but i am not very brave. Through my teens and into my early 20s i simply didn't understand how my plumbing differed from the way it was supposed to be. When i did, i grew angry and tried to run away from me for several years. When i did stop running and finally accepted me, i told my family. My spouse told me that when i transition i will go to hell and that she would leave me. My children told me that because i would be hurting their mother and i am embarrassing them. i am not brave, i wish i was...............sigh So for the last 10 years i have tried to be the person they wanted me to be but each day i hurt just a little bit more each day. All but 1 of my children have grown up and left home, my spouse is in nursing school so now. i am tired of not being brave but think maybe i am too old to transition. My feelings of wanting and needing to be a lady simply won't go away, in fact, each day is a little harder, this doesn't make sense.i wish that i had the courage all of you have.
It is never to late. Be yourself, maybe talk to a councillor about it. I am 48 and I am simply trying to accept myself as gay. If we had only been in our teens right now. I would try and talk with a councillor about it. Do what makes you feel good. Take each day one at a time and find people to support you. Find a transgender support group. I wish you the best of luck.
There are many different ways to be brave. Let me ask you something, if your family accepted and supported you, would you have transitioned when you came out? You loved your family and sacrificed your life for theirs. That's a brave and selfless act in my eyes. Moving forward, it sounds like you are ready to transition and you definitely aren't too old to do so. Transitioning takes many forms and it is up to you to figure out what your path is. Be patient with yourself and take one step at a time with the knowledge that at the end of your journey you will look in the mirror and see the person you longed to see for so long. (*hug*)
It sounds like a whole lot of love and fear. I can' t think of anything braver than letting your true and vulnerable self be seen, no matter what age. it is never too late. you express so much sadness and suffering this suppression is causing you, i think no one truly wants that for a person they love. I would find an ally, wether it be an LGBT friendly councillor, support group, a friend, co worker, relative, and you always have forums like these. I wish you all the best. If not now, then when?
I am having the same issue...47 years as a woman(uggh) I am not ready to do anything just yet but I will share this thought with you... I am fast coming to the conclusion that I am going to HAVE TO change something... ... ... born a woman ... ... lived as a woman ... .... I don't want to die like this do you?