I am...I said

A friend of mine once told me...you pass because of will power.
Of course that was back in the day when "passing" was the politically correct term indicating you could move through society as your chosen  gender.
His comment was not much of a compliment.
Essentailly he was saying I was not a natural female beauty and he was and is right.
Little did he know how right he was-for different reasons.
All the trial and error of venturing out in the world as a girl slowly but surely turned "will power" into "attitude".
The more I interacted with the world, the more I felt more assured of who I was as a transgendered female. The more assured I felt my confidence grew.
When I arrived at the point when I didn't care if the public knew I was transgendered, my life became suddenly easier.
As the drag queens say "It's all in the attitude."
If I have a solid mental attitude about my gender choice, the general public will too.
I have sadly lost contact with the friend I had for years. He lived a  life many transgendered people know; go totally into the closet or risk losing your spouse and or financial life as you know it.
Hopefully someday I will get to see him again and thank him for his insight!