Informing a Social Network

This is the message I will use when I inform the world of who I am, and who I am destined to become. It is my final draft, and I think I'll post it here first. Here we go:

[A message to all my friends and family:

Before we get started, I know most, if not, all of you are pretty understanding and open about everything. If you really don't think you can be, you can stop reading right now. This is something very serious, and not to be taken lightly.

Feeling trapped and wrong has always been a problem for me. I never felt like I belonged, and an outcast. Depression was always a constant in my life. I could never see clearly, always doubted everything in my life, from my own person skills, to all my relationships. Because of this, I always tried keeping to myself, never revealing too much, always focused on other things. Finally I feel like I can breathe for the first time in my life. A secret that has finally been revealed and has allowed me to feel alive for the first time in years.

This dark secret I have been hiding from the entire world, as well as myself, for over 20 years. This secret has caused me much pain and frustration growing up, and has affected me deeply in many levels. After coming to terms with this darkness, I realized it wasn't a darkness at all. It just seemed so dark because I couldn't see the light it held. Because of me finally being able to understand and embrace it, I have finally been able to fulfill my life. I am much happier, less stressed, and life has overall  been better. The dark secret? For the longest time I've been trying to figure out why I was different, why I never fit in to any social norms. It turns out I was normal, just on the wrong side of the fence. Those closest to me already knew, at least in part, about why I was different. I'm tired of hiding it, tired of not actually be able to be me. For all of you wondering, I am transgender.

Yes, you read that right, transgender.

For those of you who don't know, the general term for transgender is someone who appear to look different from what they feel inside. Examples, girls who act and feel more like a guy, so they want to look more like guys, and vice versa. This has NOTHING to do with sexuality. It is strictly gender identity. And yes, I am one of those few people.

First off, I still am me. Same personality, same likes, dislikes, and for those of you who might be wondering, no its not contagious :P . In all seriousness though, I am no longer depressed, and no longer am I having suicidal thoughts. Finally coming to terms with this has made me feel better, given me more energy, allowed me to get into better shape, and overall, just happier. I am a girl on the inside, and will be reflecting that on the outside. I am me. I will always be me. Nothing and no one will ever change that. Just because I look different on the outside than I do on the inside at the moment, doesn't change who I was meant to be.

I think that's all I'm going to say in this note. Simple and to the point. You probably have many questions about this, and if you are open to it, I would love to answer those questions. I do also have a blog up and running, as well as a new account. If you would like links to any of these, please send me a private message and I will link them. I probably will not be using this account much anymore, if at all, so if you still want to be in contact, or still want to be friends, you should definitely message me. If not, I hope you have a wonderful life and find your own happiness.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your time.]

There. I've been working on what I really wanted to put into it, how much detail, etc. After a few weeks of writing, and editing, I think I finally got it down. Not going to post it up to my old profile yet, until I make a few more calls to family members. It would be a little strange for that to show up on my old facebook, and make family wonder why I didn't inform sooner. This will be the easiest way to inform all my friends who I've known for a while, but can hardly contact because of distance, phone numbers, etc. Hopefully I can post it sometime this week though. It is the last thing I need to do before I'm 100% out with no worries. Anyway, I thought I'd share it here first so everyone can see. If anyone has any comments, please let me know. :) 

Until next time, with love,
~Ellie

P.S. We are on Facebook now!