I don’t think there’s much to be scared of. It’s not like it’s a magical day and night transition, so to speak, at least not for many people - and I think for those for whom it is it’s largely a psychosomatic thing. Which isn’t to downplay those effects - deciding to transition is a massive step forwards and has a revelatory effect on oneself, so it can feel like being an entirely new person, a fog lifting, etc. But for the most part, you just kind of keep on living, day by day, only every day your body is a bit more the way you want it to be.
If you’re worried about social repercussions, cis people are incredibly ignorant and the changes are slow enough that nobody will notice. Even breasts are surprisingly easy for them to ignore. And most effects of HRT are reversible if you stop (even your breasts will shrink, as they do for trans mascs on T).
This isn’t a very glamorous take, but that’s my perspective as someone who started self-medding over eight years ago now (jesus fucking christ). My transition has long since just become normal, day to day life to me. Though I think there’s a sort of mysticism to that, too. Not the glamor and excitement of being early in transition and expecting massive changes - though I did just earlier this year start experimenting again to successfully increase my breast size, so there’s always room to mix it up - but rather being able to look back and realize that this is your life now, and seeing how much you’ve changed from the person you once were. Every day you’re building new memories for yourself, and once you’ve bitten the bullet and taken the steps you need to take, each of those new memories is a small victory in and of itself.
I don’t think there’s much to be scared of. It’s not like it’s a magical day and night transition, so to speak, at least not for many people - and I think for those for whom it is it’s largely a psychosomatic thing. Which isn’t to downplay those effects - deciding to transition is a massive step forwards and has a revelatory effect on oneself, so it can feel like being an entirely new person, a fog lifting, etc. But for the most part, you just kind of keep on living, day by day, only every day your body is a bit more the way you want it to be.
If you’re worried about social repercussions, cis people are incredibly ignorant and the changes are slow enough that nobody will notice. Even breasts are surprisingly easy for them to ignore. And most effects of HRT are reversible if you stop (even your breasts will shrink, as they do for trans mascs on T).
This isn’t a very glamorous take, but that’s my perspective as someone who started self-medding over eight years ago now (jesus fucking christ). My transition has long since just become normal, day to day life to me. Though I think there’s a sort of mysticism to that, too. Not the glamor and excitement of being early in transition and expecting massive changes - though I did just earlier this year start experimenting again to successfully increase my breast size, so there’s always room to mix it up - but rather being able to look back and realize that this is your life now, and seeing how much you’ve changed from the person you once were. Every day you’re building new memories for yourself, and once you’ve bitten the bullet and taken the steps you need to take, each of those new memories is a small victory in and of itself.