Finally Dana

On Wednesday the 15th, I was excited to join the all-district BLT (building leadership team) meeting. By the end of the day, I was barely holding it together and frequently excusing myself in order to try and center myself. I have taken several days to reflect, think about the why, and consider what I might…

This post is my first in quite a while. My blog was started as a way for me to process my early transition. I am so grateful for the feedback I received and for the many of you who expressed thanks for my vulnerability and insight into the process of transition. I have comfortably assumed…

Yesterday I went to my beautiful house, full of many happy memories and signed over ownership to my wife. At the same time, we each signed the divorce agreement. While not official yet, we are now essentially divorced and I no longer have any claim to the home we bought together. I never wanted to…

I’m in the middle of a Star Wars marathon and could not think of a better title. Hope is the basis of a lot of the trans experience. I hope that undergoing medical transition will relieve the dysphoria I feel, and so far it has. I want to write today about hope and surgery.  I…

Disney’s Mulan is a fun adventure about a girl who feels she must present male to save her father. It, of course, ends with Mulan shedding her male attire and returning to life as a woman. However, there is a song in Mulan (Reflection by Christina Aguilera) that has stuck with me and with many…

“Are you coming to Proud?” The little middle school girl ran up to me in the hallway. I had never spoken to her before yet she was asking if I would come to the school’s first meeting of our version of the GSA.  She asked me this because I am visibly transgender.  I wish I…

I signed my divorce papers today.  Coming out has been a wonderful and horrible experience. I have much to be grateful for and much to celebrate. On the whole, coming out has been a significant positive and in many ways I am blessed.  But I signed my divorce papers today.  My wife is, or rather…

I have come out of the closet dozens of times, both in large groups and one on one. I have expressed my truth over beers, in front of a large group of colleagues, via text or Facebook messenger and even once in a pool. The individual acts of coming out can be broken down into…

“Can I help you sir?” I stood in the lobby looking confused. I believe the security guard was genuinely trying to be helpful. When I told him my destination, he politely directed me on my way. I was wearing makeup, tight yoga pants and a tight tank top that visibly showed my “developments.” “Sir” still…