Today was the first day I went out in public for the first time as a woman since coming out as transgender earlier this year. I'm having all sorts of emotions. For the most part it went very well. I only got stared at once at a store by an employee, but I sort of took that positively anyway. What I realized is that a lot of people are too involved in their own world to pay attention to others. Many passed by me but didn't notice because they were staring into their phones.

I wore a very simple shirt and pants, didn't overdo it. I didn't wear makeup. I wore my women's frames glasses which help me pull off the look, and did my hair in a different way than I usually do today. I thought I did a pretty good job on using my woman's voice. When I was in public and doing a normal back and forth with like a cashier, I was fine, but when I went out with friends I was progressively letting my voice fall back down to male voice mode. That's just something I'm going to need to work on.

I look forward to the day I can be a woman full time. For now, this was a good start. I don't think I can pull it off just yet. Besides, this is a process. It's why it's called a "transition". I have to be patient, but I'm getting there, and it feels good to be me. It feels good to be Tonya.

My next milestone is a bit more intimidating: I'm going to come out to the orchestra director, of the orchestra where I'm a percussionist. I know he's the type of person who likely wouldn't have a problem with it. However, I'd also have to come out to the percussion section I work with. I'm excited for the day I perform at a concert, playing some great classical repertoire and see "Tonya" listed in the percussion section. That day will come in due time. For now, I am happy and excited for life. I am more hopeful than ever.