Morwen took this picture of me at New Orleans Pride 2003.

Transition is many different things to each of us. One of the main things it is to me is the expression of all the love I have held inside for so long. As Betty, I can hug and kiss people. I can touch them in affectionate ways I was prevented from doing so in the "boy" facade I had lived with for so long. People relate to me in such different ways than they did before. Now I can love, touch and relate with all the affection and caring I have inside where as I couldn't do this as the "boy". In short, I have a freedom I always craved but could never have had before transition. My friends mean something to me beside what I could gain from them in a business relationship. I feel accepted for me and not what I could produce for someone else. I feel loved, accepted and at peace with who I am. Finally, I feel like a true human being with all the sensitivities and expressions that it entails. I didn't have this before I stopped playing the 'boy" game.  I felt obliged to "keep my distance", "beat the competition", be better than the other "guy". THIS IS PURE BULLSHIT and it means nothing to me as a human being. It was a waste of time and effort. God/dess forgive me for taking so long to realize the truth. 

Will I win? Yes I will. Will I be successful? Yes I will. I will do it as myself,  with all the love, ambition, and compassion that a woman should have.

Transition doesn't mean we surrender who we are. It is the realization and fulfillment of who we are. It completes us. It gives us the inner strength that lies within us and the opportunity to express who we are to the world. This is a wonderful thing. Have you ever asked yourself how many people have had the courage to express their true selves without fear or hesitation? I would guess the answer is that not many have had the courage to do this. I once read "that when you stretch your head above the crowd you're going to catch tomatoes". If this is the case then do so with the pride and courage the eludes those who cower in the shadows of mediocrity. You have the courage to express who you are. They, in all likelihood, will never have this experience.