Dylan, United Kingdom (he/him)

“I'm so much more confident and less anxious than I was 10 years ago that I might as well be a different person."

Was there a definitive moment you realized you were trans? How old were you?

When I was 19 I got out of a long term (for a teenager) relationship and that kind of kickstarted my journey to understanding myself as trans. It was something that had been at the back of my mind more and more but I'd pushed it down because I knew that my relationship wouldn't survive transition.

I was 20 when I eventually came out.

How soon after did you start to make changes? What were these changes?

For me the first change, before I came out or really spoke to anyone about my feelings, was binding my chest. I found that I felt so much better about my body when binding and people didn't really notice so I was doing that full time long before I worked up the nerve to come out.

Later I started down the pathway of medical transition. I started HRT at (I think) 21, which made a huge difference. At only 6 months on T I passed well enough that when I started a new job in a new city my coworkers just accepted me as a man, that was huge.

In 2016 at the age of 23 I got top surgery, which was amazing. I had been binding consistently for years at that point so it was huge to leave that behind.

Have these changes started to make you feel more comfortable in your life and body?

Absolutely. I don't really experience dysphoria anymore and the fact that I'm trans doesn't really influence my day to day life. I'm so much more confident and less anxious than I was 10 years ago that I might as well be a different person.

What would you tell your younger self? Would you do anything differently?

I would tell him that he just hasn't found his place yet and that it gets better.

I wouldn't miss the doctor's appointment that I missed and set my medical transition back by a year! Other than that, I don't really have many regrets. Arguably I could have transitioned earlier and I do think that my life was set back a few years by when things happened, but being on the other side of it now it all seems worth it.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I'm now happily married, working a job that I love, and last year my husband (who has only ever known me as a man) and I bought our first home together. It took a little while, but I've got a life that I once thought wasn't possible. It gets better.

Have the gender-affirming steps you’ve taken impacted your overall happiness and sense of well-being?

Yes.