*waves shyly* Hi

[Trickster]

Before I get into my story and all, hi. My name right this second is Daniel or Lucas, I really don't care which you use. What's yours? Oh, before you sit down and listen to my story, help yourself to some chocolate chip cookies and milk. I have whole, 2%, skim and soy.

Now that you're all situated and stuff, I'll tell you a bit about me. My chosen name tends to shift between Daniel, Lucas, Nicholas and Stefan (pronounced Stef-in). I am an asexual, semi-biromantic, thirteen-year-old art fanatic. Oh, and I'm a boy who was born as a girl. That's a picture of me in my avatar. My natural hair color is blonde to medium ash blonde, but I've gone through various unnatural hair colors in the past few years. I'm trying to get it back to it's natural color now. I love cats, going on walks, listening to AFI, David Bowie and Queen, and learning all I can about anything and everything. I dislike ignorance, bigotry and tomatoes. Now onto my gender story.

Ever since I was around four, I knew I was supposed to be a boy. I always wondered where my penis was and when the thing was finally gonna grow. For a couple years, I was sure that being physically girl was just an annoying phase. I didn't tell anyone, because I just assumed it was something you didn't talk about. I don't have any idea where I got that idea, but that's what I believed.

Of course, when I realized that that's just not how things worked, I told myself repeatedly that I had just imagined it, and suppressed the small voice in my head telling me that I was really a boy. I would occasionally refuse to wear a skirt or wish my friends would stop trying to get me to wear makeup, but otherwise I was a perfect girl. It was actually working out alright, until about two years ago. I ran across a transgender forum on gaia and all my former feelings came back. It finally all made sense to me. Since I had repressed my feelings for so long, I went through a stage of dysphoria, depression and, for a short amount of time, self-injury.

Over a few months, I finally started accepting myself fully as male, and I felt more comfortable than ever. I now dress in mostly male clothing (with a nice skirt thrown in here and there because they're so darn comfortable), and have come out to my mom, nana, sister, cousin, uncle and, accidentally, Papaw (grandpa on Dad's side) and my aunt. Nana now tells me all the time that I'm too girly, polite, and uninterested in rap or fart jokes to be male. Mom makes sure to tell me that I'm not a boy, and my sister Jade is in complete denial. It's kind of difficult to deal with sometimes, but I take comfort in the fact that it's getting better and they're slowly starting to accept me. I know who and what I am, and nothing they say can change that anyway.

Anyway, thanks for listening, and I apologize for the complaining at the end. I hope you enjoyed the cookies, and feel free to leave a comment. ^^

[shiofra]

Hi! Welcom aboard.

[Shadow Dragon]

Welcome to WiG. Hopefully your family will come around with time.

[EJA]

Howdy.

Do you still play Gaia? If you do, I'm 'faint old rhyme' on there.

[Ahuizotl]

It must have taken a lot of guts to come out so early, agewise, and I'm sorry that your family can't accept you for who you are inside. As cheesy as that sounds, it should be a given. Just because you don't fit your grandmother's set of stereotypes doesn't mean that you're any less of a boy. I hope they come to their senses enough to realize that you've made a big discovery about yourself. It's not a phase, it's something that has affected you your whole life. If you feel comfortable telling your parents or other people you trust about the self-injury, I know that they will at least somewhat realize the magnitude of the situation. I've talked to people who have or have had problems with self-injury before, and they're usually scared that they will be institutionalized, but even if your parents talk you to a psychologist, that's not the course of action that's usually taken. Contrary to what is seen on television, if a patient expresses thoughts of suicide, the psychologist does not immediately push a flashing red button. Yes, if they're worth their salt they take the patient seriously and make sure they don't have specific plans that they intend to follow up on, but they're not going to ask your size in straitjackets.

Despite their behavior, it's pretty likely that your parents love you, but that doesn't mean you have to put up with everything they come up with. If they want to "fix" you, or refer you to someone who will ultimately try to detransify you or whatever- by all means pick a verb that's more suitably ominous- stand up for yourself. You seem like a well-adjusted person, but I can't reiterate enough that being trans is definitely not your fault. It's nobody's fault, and it's not a character flaw.

I'm glad you feel comfortable discussing your gender identity with your parents. It's something I wish I had the luxury- no, the chutzpah- to do. Just don't base your acceptance of yourself on their approval.

[AlexTheSane]

Welcome to the Place! I think it's great that you're comfortable being out to yourself and others at your age. I didn't even know what transgender WAS until I was fifteen.

Also, cookies and soymilk, mmmmmmmm.

[Trickster]

Howdy.

Do you still play Gaia? If you do, I'm 'faint old rhyme' on there.

Yeah, I'll send you a message. My name's vegan_muffins.

If you feel comfortable telling your parents or other people you trust about the self-injury, I know that they will at least somewhat realize the magnitude of the situation.

I've told my mom and nana. Mom was worried, but since I was past it, she didn't really say anything else about it. Nana told me I was making to big of a deal about it and started ranting about how I wouldn't pass anyway and T would just make me ugly and stuff. So it didn't really do much as far as making them realize how big of a part transsexuality has played in my life.