The Continually Inspiring Magic Of HRT. Live Your Truth!

The continually inspiring magic of HRT. Live your truth!

UPDATE: The fourth girl down in this collage is the beautiful and talented Claire Michelle, who asked that I share her inspiring transition story with you, which I first came across on Reddit… http://imgur.com/a/pxBAN

The openness and emotional impact of her journey is something we can all relate to. Two excerpts in particular from her Coming Out letter to friends and family hit home for me…

“It has been a difficult journey to amass enough courage to be true to myself. It is now my wish to be true to all of you. For as long as I can remember I have held an aspect of myself in deep secrecy. Maintaining such secrecy seemed necessary based on the amount of shame, guilt, and embarrassment I experienced whenever consciously confronting this issue to myself. But now, as I have started to make strides to alleviate the pain I feel, I want to let everyone I know in on what I plan to do to become a happier person.”

“I want to strongly emphasize is that while my transition will change my appearance and how I’m perceived in society, it will do nothing to change who I am internally. Believe it or not, mentally, I have always been this person. What I am doing now is merely making my physical body more congruent with my mental identity. Since I am and continue to be the same person, I want to make it clear that the person you know or knew once is not/was not a fabrication. The interests, likes/dislikes, personality, sense of humor (or lack thereof), and passions that you have come to identify with my personality remain unchanged. While this may be a lofty goal, I don’t want the news I just broke to be something that changes your entire perception of me, but rather something that tells you more completely who I am.”

Truly inspired by her one year journey on HRT and wish her continued health, happiness, and adventure in the years to come. Read more of her story here… http://imgur.com/a/6YJwQ

And listen to her music here… http://www.clairemichellemusic.com

UPDATE 2: The sixth woman in this collage is Kayla Autumn Ward, who has been an inspiration to me since I first discovered her on Flickr years ago when she was still married and struggling with her gender identity. It was so important to me at that time, because I was in a similar position and knowing someone else was confronting the same demons was incredibly comforting. Contrary to what you often see online about trans women, we aren’t fetishes or fucktoys, sissies or trannies. We are human beings with hearts and minds, hopes and dreams, families and friends. Kayla was the first trans girl I found who demystified this process for me. Watching her overcome obstacle after obstacle, building a new life for herself from scratch, and working hard to achieve her goals, while confronting misgendering, ignorance, and hate has been tremendously empowering. For those looking for hope on their own journey, I direct you to Kayla’s story for encouragement.

http://mytransgenderjourney.tumblr.com/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaylawinters

https://www.facebook.com/KaylaAutumnWard

https://www.youtube.com/user/kaylathegirlwithin

She has recently completed gender alignment surgery with Dr Brassard in Montreal and begun an entirely new chapter in her life.