Ohhh. Kapusta! I haven't had that in decades. Max, are you familiar with golumpki, too? I LOVED that stuff as a kid. (Had a Polish stepmother.)   I don't think you need to censor yourself for positive/negative content here. Nobody's going to ban you for not being positive enough. You see what you see and feel what you feel, and it's perfectly acceptable to share that here. But life really is a mix of "things we like" and "things we don't like," and I do think it's helpful to at least *aim* for the ones we like.   Hang in there. Pierogis are a good reason to appreciate life.

Thank you! It took me a moment to navigate how to respond but I'll get the hang of this. I appreciate your warm welcome and guidance. I plan to do a little exploring and get in where I fit in. I appreciate you being my first point of contact today in this new chapter. You'll see me around. 

Hi, Jesse.  Welcome!   You have found your people.  There are lots of people here with similar stories.  Feel free to bounce ideas off people, ask questions, join in discussions or just tell us how your day is going.

Hey everyone, my Name is Jesse J. I found this group by a long drawn out, and honestly discouraging, journey to find some sort of solidarity that didn't require me going through the LGB part of the community to find it. I have been looking for something specifically for trans folks. I read through the rules and all of the email response from signing up (amazingly easy and laid out instructions on how to navigate this site- thank you!) In all honesty, I don't know what I'm looking for ... I just knew I needed to find my people. I have been primarily stealth fo the last 15 years and went through parts of my transition (socially and medically) silently. I am a long time activist but I'm learning more and more about myself and my spirit. I was hoping that my introduction would be filled with more answers about me and not so many "un" answered questions , so I apologize for that. I don't know.... I'm here. I'm alive. I'm a father and husband. But I'm empty. ... I guess. Thank you all and thank you so much to the service team who developed and maintain this resource. 

I was thinking this kind of thing too! You know, until logistics... You might say the main obstacle is big freaking ocean in the middle, or the cost to get across it. But it's not. It's the schedule. When I try to get together with my friends who live like 10 minutes from me, it's like, "Next week? Oh, you have a work thing. Oh, I'm out 4 days the week after that... Oh, no, kid's recital that next Thursday... How's 2027 look for you?"

We should all go out for lunch somewhere and be open and sharing people together.  The world may not be quite ready for the amount of sparkly joy and hugging. But, these are the things that make the world better. 

Right !!   It might sound like a cliche... but im really glad to have found a corner of the Internet that gives me some hope for humanity 😂

i was scrolling on YouTube earlier and i found out that CHICKENS CAN BE TRANS. (only ftm though)   I've ever related with a chicken more. also most avians can be gay, so i wanna say that birds are the gayest species lolll   here's an article if anyone is curious   https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-anatomy/avian-reproductive-female/sex-reversal-in-chickens-kept-in-small-and-backyard-flocks/#:~:text=It is possible for a,referred to as sex reversal.

they were decent, we only had the time to make potato and cheese ones, though. i prefer kapusta, but that takes a little while, and we only had 2 and a half hours to make 40+ of them.   im just worried about not talking positively because i was banned off of a christian forum because all i did was "create dissent in the community". i went there to ask christians some questions on what they consider sin, what religions seem interesting to them, and everytime, i was faced with "aaaurgh your a sinner i hate religions other than the one of christ!! ggrrrrr..."   and when i decided to come back and say "hey, if Christianity is about peace, why not spread it?"   story aside, basically i was banned because i was "negative" all of the time and not discussing what the forum was mainly for. and with my community post restrictions, i fear getting banned for that exact reason. i cant help that i see more bad than good.

This is beautiful, and I am grateful to be here for it. I have travelled so much further than I expected to want to travel with this, and I keep learning that I want to try more things, and I always bring it here, and there are people who understand what I mean, and can see what I am aiming at, even thought their own experience is in a completely different direction, but, we are ALL people, and we can all understand how It feels to have and want sensory experiences that are different from what assigned biology allowed, and appreciating each step of understanding how being human in the world and applying these thing feels for EACH person, in their own way adds to everyone's feeling and experience and belonging. Especially when it is all received and shared openly with care and acceptance. 

Yes! Likewise! Had someone told me a year ago that I'd be here, having these conversations AND having these feelings - both about these things AND about the conversations themselves... I'd have thought they'd lost their minds.   I've always held onto hope that people could share their innermost feelings - desires, fears, all of it - and receive it openly and recognize the ways that we are all the same at our core. I feel like we're doing that here, and that, to me, is absolutely priceless.

Very much this, and I am very grateful for ALL of you. It has been life changing for me, and I learn more than I ever imagined I would. And more than imagined I WANTED to know. 

The more i share the more I realise that I am not alone. A lot of people have similar anxieties or experiences even when coming at it from a completely different direction. Its nice being able to connect with others in that way 

It IS fun to pursue peace, fulfillment, and satisfaction, isn't it? Especially when you discover new clues!   I guess I feel like HRT and surgery and other bodily changes aren't any different ethically/morally from the discussion over here about there not needing to be "shoulds" or "shouldn'ts" about "accessories." If something feels *right* for us, especially like deep down inside *right*, then who is harmed by HRT or surgeries - other than possibly ourselves, which is why it's important to involve medical professionals to help assess risk.   I see realistic comparisons being having dental work done or various cosmetic surgeries or joint replacements or carpal tunnel surgery... Modern medicine offers a variety of options for improving the quality of our lives. I don't see gender-affirming being care any different from the others.

It's so much fun to have this conversation with a fellow nerd!   I guess if I'm being more honest and vulnerable, fun isn't a strong enough word. Fulfilling? Satisfying? Peaceful? It is also fun, but it's a deeper kind of fun.

As long as you're okay and the bigots are getting it worse 😂

There's no travel board?    Anyway, we are travelling.    So, any super awesome things to do / know about / try in Austria? Specifically Vienna / Salzburg.   Any cool LGBTQ+ stuff?    Any things to be wary of? (I am not usually a very wary person, and am pretty confident) 

I actually did, thank you for asking.    I turned up at Pride with no ticket, due to complicated reasons, and the people on the gate let me in anyway, with VIP band and everything, and it made me feel like SOMEONE WHO WASN'T ME believed that I belonged and should be there.    Which was joyful.    But then I spent ten minutes there and got overwhelmed and lonely and did not feel belonging so I left.    But, still...   I think, like Hannah Gadsby, I need to just find where the quiet version of my people hang out.   I have had other joyful, gender led experiences this month, but that was my pride specific one.

It *really* is.    Properly.    I *never* had any intention of knowing that this is a thing I have *any* kind of feeling about. And now here I am not only having feelings but ALSO knowing a bunch of people who have SIMILAR feelings. It's kind of confusing and comforting all at once. Which I guess means it really does help to share even the things that feel like they should *definitely* stay inside my head!   

I agree, Max. Life is always a mixed bag of "bad" and "good" stuff, and I think it's important to be able to hold it all (whenever possible). When things are going really poorly, I like to look around and remind myself of the ways that there is still good in my life. And even when things are going well, I try not to become complacent and remember that I'm on a "lucky streak," and more difficult times will eventually come.   I hope the paint comes off easily and I hope the pierogis are excellent.