Note: this was originally published in 2019
The following and the pages linked from here were originally published in November of 2019. I created these pages to help my friends, family and co-workers understand what was going on with me. I have kept them because, you never stop coming out and many people have told me how helpful they have been. I have done some minor edits and updates but most of the original content is unchanged.
Welcome to my coming out party!
Are you confused, hopefully, this site will help. I was designated male at birth. Although that never fit I tried to do all of the things society expected of me. I got married, had kids, even joined the army. Yet no matter how much I tried I was never ‘one of the guys’.
Then my life started to change when in 2018 I was blessed with the opportunity to explore who I am inside. That lead to an amazing journey of self-discovery. Along the way, I have learned a lot about myself, my passions, and what it means to be a transgender woman.
However, I realize a lot of you may not be all that familiar with the queer (LGBT-QAI+) world, as I wasn’t for a long time. And all of this brings up some unique questions. So to help resolve some of this, I have written my story below, along with an FAQ and some other resources. I hope this helps you understand who I am.
My Story, the short version
I have always known I was different. Even as a young child I didn’t fit in. But I always hid it, even from myself. As long as I managed to keep it hidden I was able to handle things. As some of my kids came out as LGBT, things started changing; it wasn’t so easy to hide anymore. When we moved to Utah, I started learning more about LGBT and how it relates to me. At the time I didn’t know where that was going to lead, but my wife and I worked through it together. After months of research and working with medical professionals, we finally figured out I am a transgender woman.