I’ve been living as female for over five years now and while I have had a reasonable amount of success passing, there are still areas which provide a certain amount of difficulty. For the most part the general public is not aware that their perception of this individual is not entirely correct. Perhaps it doesn’t require a meticulous feminine way of walking, talking or even dressing, but rather how well you are able to project a level of being overlooked. Presenting an image of “Nothing special here, it’s just little ole me” can take you to a height of invisibility wherever you may venture.

It was only a year ago that I joined the Woman’s Club of Elk Grove Village and they have accepted me for who I really am to the point of a position on the board as Civics Director. There were several reasons for my joining the Woman’s club. First was to see if I really had the guts to do it, testing how well I could blend in and be just one of the girls. Second was to see how they conducted their meetings and I found out that the base core functions are always the same. Every meeting is a little different in a very special way in conjunction with how I approach them by whether I sit and observe or join in and become a part of the group.

There have been some difficult times as well when it comes to medical problems. I have become very sick because of molds in my apartment and have had to seek out a specialist in an effort to find some kind of medical help. When the nurses go through the information I provided, there is that one question that keeps coming up “why didn’t you fill out when was your last period was?” It’s great that they didn’t notice, but now they have to know all the facts in order to make a proper diagnosis, which leads to a brief moment of surprise and a few TG related questions, before they can continue with the exam. Dr Goodman at the VA hospital said it well, “when going through hell, the main objective is to keep going.”

Giving someone new information about yourself will always change the relationship, for better or worse, it’s a gamble based on their ability to understand. Nothing is as it seems. No one is greater or less than the sum of all the parts of the universe. Keeping your ones mind’s eye open to new concepts and ideas will take you to wonders beyond the world in which you are currently residing.

Hugs, Sara