T.N.T.

So much has been going on in the past few months. I still haven't posted all of my coming out letters, but I plan to.

My mom has been overwhelmingly supportive. Almost all of my aunts and uncles that I contacted responded positively. My brother basically said he loved me no matter what, and that it's my life. My dad seems to be dealing with things in the way I expected. He's acting as if almost nothing has happened, in hopes that I will change my mind and the problem will go away on its own. He's still using feminine pronouns and my given name. It seems like he's trying harder to refer to me in this way, and drop hints about the future he wants me to have. At one point, he said something about me hopefully giving birth one day, and after gifting me some money, told me not to spend it on surgery. He also said that he doesn't want to lose his daughter.

My brother is taking the easy route and pretending like nothing major is happening either, despite his initial support. When I last saw him, he was still using my old name and pronouns. I assume this is partially because of my dad.

All in all, I feel my relationship with my family has strengthened. I visited my mom for Thanksgiving, and she is trying to be as respectful as possible. She's already started calling me by my new name and pronouns, and her boyfriend is too. I met his family and friends, and everything was practically seamless. The people that I had met before were respectful as well, and I didn't notice any slip-ups.

I also started on testosterone on November 20th. Because my schedule was hectic around the two-week mark, I decided to give myself the injection a day early. It went reasonably well, and I think I'll be okay. I want to do a larger entry on the whole process leading up to the first injection, so I'll save that for later. But it was a very empowering and comfortable experience overall. I've already started seeing and feeling some of the effects, and it's been 99% positive. The only thing I mind at all is the slightly oilier skin, but I've got that taken care of.

I also went through a fairly bad breakup. Nothing was a result of trans issues, and I'm not going to go into it further here. Hopefully we can be friends eventually, since I don't harbor any serious negativity or anything.

A couple of months after that, I met an amazing woman and am currently head over heels. The whole situation baffles me, since I wasn't looking to get involved with anyone after the aforementioned breakup. Everyone tells me that these things seem to happen right when you stop looking for them or expecting them. I don't really believe in luck or "willing" what you want into your world, but I'm pretty blown away here. I have never felt so comfortable with someone, or so connected...especially right after the first real conversation. More on this later as well, I'm sure.