Why did I transition?

It wasn’t a choice. It was always there waiting to emerge. The hardest periods in my life correspond to when I was trying to suppress this side of myself.

The problem was, I didn’t really know what ‘it’ was. I eventually understood that this was the feminine side of my nature trying to express itself. It wasn’t really until middle age that I understood what this was, and only then was I able to grapple with the challenge of transitioning. Unlike the turmoil of confusion a teenager feels, my experience was one where I understood myself pretty well. As I got a better idea of what I was dealing with I found I progressed quite easily into transition.

It was my good fortune that this happened at a time when transgender issues were being openly discussed on the internet and elsewhere. While many people do not understand gender issues I was fortunate enough to have people around me that had a good understanding of the situation. While it was at times a frightening experience — more often than not that being fear of what other people might think — it was never really that difficult. After all, I was quite suddenly finding I was being who I genuinely am, rather than being someone I am not.

That was so relieving, it became very easy to accept that I was doing something that was right for me. And realistically it wasn’t as if I had to transition very far. I had…