Goodbye Julie, I will not forget you.

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My name was Julie Schippnick. I lived from April 2011 to March 2013... while I didn't make it to two years old, it was some of the craziest and best times of my personal identity. I felt free in a lot of ways but trapped at the same time. As I've mentioned previously in other blog posts and to my nearly 25,000 followers on G+ I never took the extra step of going on hormones to change my body's physiology. Friends and people I barely knew on the Internet always offered to either send me the hormones from their own supply or pay for them directly if I went to places like Planned Parenthood or medical consent clinics and I turned them down primarily for two reasons: being too scared and I didn't want to because of my wife Kelly.

If you've been following my blog for a while you'd already know that in February of this year (2013) Kelly had kicked me out and I was forced to stay in a hotel for a week because we just weren't willing to compromise on my individuality being set on becoming Julie. Both my wife and I weren't willing to budge because I wanted to be free and she just wanted her husband back; what I was doing was completely selfish in every way. Giving up the love of my life plus my perfect children just wasn't something I could go through. Imagine this: you've been married for seven years (at that time) and your spouse is telling you to leave forever and that you'd never have a normal relationship with your kids... I just couldn't do it.

Dec 2012.. when I took this picture I thought everything would
be just fine. How I kidded myself so much.. I was so naive then.

I was lucky enough to start a new job with a really nice tech company at the end of July and I was still pretty much set on re-transitioning back to Julie after that two year period and this was something that Kelly dwelled on inside of her mind for several weeks because one day when I was at work she just stopped talking to me completely via phone and text. I was really worried because any time Kelly cut herself off from communicating with me she was usually one of two things or both: angry or afraid. As she had the car at the time she dropped me off that morning, we kissed and said our "love yous" and I thought it was going to be a great day and I already knew in my mind that she was kicking me out again as this was the same thing that happened the last two times so I did what anyone else in this situation would do and I was able to secure a ride home that night and when I got home I saw all of my stuff in a laundry basket on the front porch and the locks were changed. Now, being my house I had every right to gain entry but I wasn't just going to vandalize or break a window to get in which meant I called my dad and he drove up from Altus, OK to Edmond and we got inside by breaking the lock, packed up everything else that I needed such as my computer, some more of my clothes and my personal items and headed down to Altus, OK for the next five days while I coped with what just happened. 

Every day I was down there with my dad I was extremely somber and I didn't leave the bed unless I had to eat or use the toilet and as I was getting eaten up by pill bugs and who knows what else was living in that bed, despite it all I never contemplated about suicide because while I was so lonely without Kelly and over that period we re-bonded via text messages, phone calls, and even Google+ hangouts from mobile and I informed her that I was thinking about just de-transitioning altogether because living without her and the kids just wasn't something I wanted to do. Now please be mindful, I am not trying to vilify Kelly in any way and I only see her as unfairly misguided by her evil mother. Things have been tough without any sort of income, having to sell off things I wish I didn't have to part with (Nintendo 3DS, PS3 games, Fish Tank, etc) I think things would be a million times worse if I didn't have my family. 

I will miss being Julie and while that is in the past, I still consider myself transgender... maybe not genderqueer, intersexed or any of the other terms under the trans umbrella but I will not forget a single moment of what I've been through and I think I'm unique in that I was able to live a nearly two full years as a woman which allowed me to get a pretty good perspective and even more respect for what women, not just trans-women, go through every day of their life.

So thank you Julie, I love you.

This is me now. I am reborn simply as J. 

Now this doesn't mean I'm done blogging! No, that is not going to happen but I feel like this blog is no longer home to someone who is not Julie. I am starting a new blog which you can check me out over at:

http://theLetter10.blogspot.com

See you soon!

Year of Julie

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First post of the year, so happy 2013 to everybody!

2012 was a beast of a year with going through my second year of transition (sans HRT), but for 2013 things will hopefully be the year that things finally go my way. Yes, I will continue to fight depression but I have to keep things in perspective to also fight for myself.

For 2013, I will make it the "Year of Julie"... there will be three major goals that I plan to achieve that I believe will not help me with my transition, but will also help me be a better parent and a better personal overall.

1. Self Identity
   
   This is perhaps the most important goal for the year of 2013, physically becoming who I need to be. Sure, people say I look great and I pass like 90% of the time when I'm online, out in public, at work or at home... but until I actually begin hormones, have my name legally changed... I will still feel like a man. Between now and March, I will be trying to scrounge up the funds to get my name legally changed because after following some very useful instructions for changing my name in Oklahoma  I think I've finally decided on my whole legal name change, get the $150 together for the change and get this thing all done because I feel that once this happens, I will begin to feel liberated again with who I am supposed to be.
   
   I also think I am finally building up the courage to walk into a salon and get my hair trimmed and styled because I haven't cut my hair since Jan 2011 when I last shaved my head in my last ditch effort on trying to be a macho male because my hair is just a mess... it looks good when up, but the dead ends on the longer parts are becoming too much of an eyesore that it is driving myself and others crazy. I obviously can't go and get my hair styled with Kelly because I feel more and more socially awkward around her in public than I ever have before, but I have one or two friends I think I can go with to feel comfortable enough to let someone else touch my hair. I definitely don't want my hair too short because I love my long hair especially when I feel it on my back and I don't want it to be too dead and fall off of my head which leads me to the most important goal...
   
   Hormone Replacement Therapy. I finally found a good therapist here in the Oklahoma City area that can help me, unfortunately Dr. Singleton does not take Magellan Employee Assistance for free therapy sessions, but once I have the funds to go in, get my referral letter and then hit up the endocrinologist for my very expensive prescription, I will finally start to physically develop into the woman I have always meant to be... this will probably help take the edge off of my depression and anxiety and I think once I begin HRT, I'll finally try to lay down the $1200 for electrolysis hair removal...
   
   Oh, and if you haven't already checked out my most recent voice attempts, definitely make sure to check them out... you might laugh at one of them!
   
   
2. Rebuild the relationship with my dad
   
   In a stunning turn of events at the end of 2012, my dad finally reached out to me in nearly two years of silence by sending me a birthday card back in December. I was actually quite surprised to receive the birthday card because not only was it the first birthday card my dad sent me in over four years, but my dad actually put "Julie Schippnick" on the card. Of course, while this was an important gesture for him to do, it may have just been his way of announcing he is getting married for a third time and is going to have another child that he so desperately mentioned to me for over 20 years as I grew up with him... but I won't let that stop me in trying to keep an open communication line with him. I am using my most feminine voice I can put on with him, even more feminine than my regular speaking voice like I have something to prove to him. I do want to ask him if there is anyway he can help me financially with my transition, but asking anyone for money is always an awkward experience. No, I am not going to use him but I feel like maybe it'll make up for all of the years of hiding from myself and any time I tried to express who I was growing up was always treated with what I felt like was ridicule as if I couldn't meet his expectations as a child. He always wanted me to play sports and never show emotion and there were at least over a hundred different opportunities where I tried to hint or even straight-up tell him that I always believed myself to be a girl... and I know he's read my blog so I hope that if you are reading this maybe I won't have to ask you to your face; yes, I am still very scared.
   
   
3. Focus on my children
   
   I need my children, all three of them plus the one that is on the way. I need to learn to distance myself from Kelly as we go through our divorce, try to be friends with her and I must remember that the children are the most important. When I finally move into my place (looking for a roommate ), I will make sure they will have their own room so when they come over they can sleep in a room to spend the night, have toys and other things. You know it's funny I always talk about my problems with living with my soon to be ex-wife, how difficult it is, etc and how people always make comments such as, "Move to another state", or "You should move out right away", they don't know how difficult that is. First off, I don't want to leave my kids alone here in Oklahoma because even though I really hate this state with nearly every fiber of my body I can't leave them behind; secondly, when my financial situation improves, get a second card and then maybe find a place to live I will move out but I will not leave Kelly alone during the last several months of pregnancy even if she does hate me, I can't just leave--I'm sorry.

Isn't Carson a big boy in his new bed?!?!

Of course, it's not going to be easy to achieve all of these goals, but as my best friend says, "If life wasn't hard, then it'd be boring", and she is right. I just hope I don't have to go through it all alone.

And lastly, TransStories.com has recently been moved to another web host. If someone knows CSS/PHP and think they can take Wordpress, just reach out to me on google plus, any help would be appreciated. 

Before Julie: Prayers of a Child

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I'm leaning to the side because I broke my arm
a month prior to this picture and they
wouldn't let me wear my sling, so instead
my cast was so heavy that it made me lean,

I was always sad as a kid, being a little boy and knowing that becoming who I was meant to be would only remain a dream unless something drastic happened. Throughout my whole life I never really considered myself to be a religious person; I did go-to church, in fact many different types of churches, and I was always taught that God had a plan for us all and the way we were was the way we were meant to be... but I didn't always buy that. I was also taught that God always hears our prayers and for some reason believe that if you prayed hard enough that your prayers were be answered.

I always had a tough time going to bed as a child because I was sad and there were many nights that I cried wondering why God would punish me in putting me in the body of a boy when I knew I was always meant to be born as a girl. Was this a cruel joke or "lesson" God was trying to teach me? And if so, why would such a omnipotent being like God play tricks on individuals... I knew I couldn't had been the only person in the whole world of all time that felt this same way. Every single night, I would always pray... I would pray to God that when I woke up in the morning that he'd take my penis away, give me a vagina and make me a pretty girl and every morning I woke up I would lose a little bit more faith as time passed on.

This is how I know God does not exist. If God truly existed, I would have been born female instead of male because for me to be born this way... something during my fetal development must have happened. Sure, there is no concrete proof of this but logically something must have happened.

As my faith waned and I went on through life, I know the only person who could be in control of my own destiny (besides my dad telling me what I can and cannot do, of course) was myself and thankfully for nearly two years I have been well on my way with my journey of becoming Julie. Yes, it's been a difficult one and I do wish things happened sooner but the important thing to remember is that I am making progress. Before I was Julie was had so much doubt in myself and didn't know what tomorrow would bring, and while there are many mysteries ahead as I continue to becoming the woman I've always meant to be, I will never forget what I've been through and I always try to take my past experiences and try to take the suffering I endured and hopefully use it to strengthen who I am today.

Transphobia and You, Part II

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For the first part of my series talking about transphobia, click here!

Even before I was openly trans, transphobic statements have always bothered me. I'm not talking about the blatant name like trap, tranny, shemale, lady-boy, or anything like that, I'm talking about those insensitive jokes that people think are funny when they chuckle about how a straight man, who believes they are only attracted to women, get confused by a trans-woman. You may be wondering why I've picked this very specific example and the reason why is because I probably see this more often on places like Twitter, Reddit, and Google+.

Specifically, last month someone, (@GuyThe_Guy) who I did follow decided to post these highly insensitive comments.

@julie2at is me and I'm sure you know who the other person is. (Just want to shout out
mad respect to @stuxnetsource, while we disagree on many aspects regarding
transgender culture, her heart is always in the right place.)

Look, I can understand that some people like to joke around, but even after a friend and myself decided to educate these types of jokes can really hurt people, much like racist or sexist jokes, he just shrugged it off. This is a completely different sort of transphobia. This is not transphobia in which a person may be simply scared of transgender folks, but this is the type that is just a lack of empathy. Would this user feel the same way if he posted a racist joke? Unfortunately, I could not find out because I was promptly blocked for simply expressing my concerns. This seems to become a trend more and more as society grows, becomes more accepting of gay culture but I feel that understanding transgendered men and women is going to take at least another decade or more before we can feel accepted in society as much as anyone else...

So please, for this Transgender Awareness Week please be very mindful what you say in public or online because words are very powerful and can be very hurtful.

Thank you.

Before Julie, Part II

You can read Part 1 of "Before Julie" here.

The earliest I remember in feeling I was wrong was when I was a little boy around the age four or five during my Kindergarten year.. In fact, I think I remember the exact moment I had a female experience. As a young boy, my dad was in the Air Force and during the first experience was when I was living on Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas and it was one of the days that my dad had to drop me off at the base's Day Care Center and like all of the usual things that are done at daycare, such as watch movies, play with blocks, draw, take naps, etc, it was this one particular day that I decided to play dress up with some of my friends that I knew from the time I spent at this daycare. What I wore wasn't really that strange I guess for little kids to wear and at first I just wore a really over-sized jacket which was more of gender-neutral clothing, but as we continued to play I decided to dress like a girl! I put on a big feather boa, some big pink sunglasses, a yellow shirt, a pink tutu and some red high heels on... I felt amazing; I saw myself in the mirror and I just knew it felt right!!

I was a cute little boy, huh?

I swear I must have stayed dressed like that for a good 45 minutes before I took them off and I only did so because at that time my dad decided to pick me up from daycare and to say he was not pleased is an understatement... of course, I'm sure he doesn't even remember this incident but I distinctively remember him being angry with me for "dressing like a girl" and yelled at me the way home explaining to me how wrong he felt it was... I know this is not only wrong because there is no reason at all to be so harsh on a young child, but it also sets a precedence for discrimination against gender roles and responsibilities.

Some people might think this is just kids being kids, but it was much more than that. This exact moment impacted my whole life on who I am now... I'm not saying this is the only moment in my life that defined my transgenderism as there are probably ten key different experiences I've had that define who I've become. Now, I'm not trying to say that every boy or girl who does this is transgendered, because that simply isn't true but what I am saying is that parents should never discourage a child on being who they want to be unless it puts their lives in some sort of physical harm or legal trouble. I would never expect my own children to be someone they wouldn't want to be and would never pressure them to conform to some sort of image that I think they should be.


Julie Schippnick

G+eek Things - The First One!

A few weeks ago, I attempted to do a Google Plus Hangout Show, and well, here is the first official one... ignore the pre-alpha test from before!

Big thanks to Anthony Ramos for putting 

up with my annoying banter. 

Check it out, let me know what you think and if you either have suggestions for topics or would like to chat with me on a future installment of G+eek Things, just leave a comment here or let me know on my G+ profile!

Julie Schippnick

Working Girl, Part II

You can read Part 1 of 'Working Girl' here.

It has been two months since the last time I've talked about this particular topic and I can say without any sort of uncertainty that things have gotten better. Co-workers don't openly call me a he or him to my face (and hopefully not behind my back!) and I swear everyone in that building knows me as Julie now. I find it quite funny that the two people who interviewed me back on April 24th, 2012 (which later I found out one was the top sales manager in my company and one of the two managers in charge of my whole department) knew me only as my male name now know completely about my transition and are proud to talk about myself to others.

Let's take a trip back to April: I was at the end of my medical disability from AT&T and I just simply had to get away from that place for their transphobic attitude towards who I became. When I started working there in 2006 I was fully male and didn't come out until the second quarter of 2011 and they simply were not having it with me, in their words "suddenly showing up to work as a woman." When I interviewed at the company that now proudly has me as an employee, I still hadn't decided on what to really call myself so I went under my male name but I had my nails done, hair made up, wore a brand new beautiful pants suit and walked in my new heels with pride... during both portions of my interview I let them know that while Oklahoma has no legal rights for transgendered workers, I read their company policy online and they specifically mention that they do everything they can, even above what the law requires, to be an equal opportunity employer... I think it impressed them that I actually did research on their policies and I guess it was no surprise that I was offered the position on the spot.

I will admit that I was worried that when I wrote my last post that things would never improve but things have really turned around for me; sure, I'm not the best performer at my job (even my supervisor admitted that'll get better as I get used to the still very new environment my position requires) but even those who point out some of my flaws commend me on my persistence, my attitude, and my ability to adapt and tweak my approach at what I do every single day either with internal or external customers. Of course, I still have to use a special bathroom which my lovely HR department head said would probably no longer be required of me once I get my name changed or when I finally start hormones and they take control of my body (I literally get wet just thinking of that last part), but it's all good as the bathroom is still very much private and exclusive only for myself.

I'll let you know what's up again in another two months and hopefully things will only get better! :)

Remember you can follow my blog by clicking "Join This Site" at the top, checking me out on G+, or you can follow me on Twitter, @julie2aT :)

Julie Schippnick