This was me about 8 months living on my own- Dec 2010:

And this is me last weekend - Sept 2012:

 I still a have some work to do.  But definitely much happier now!     Sigh.....................

I posted before about the "trans borg" and the people who really object to the terms within the trans umbrella.  But there is another point that has really been bothering me, especially since I was on that webcam chat site supposedly aimed at transgender.  One of the things that really, really got to me was how the people there identified themselves.  It did not allow TV or shemale, which was good I think.  It was really strange when a few people really did identify as shemale with their account names.  Most of us other girls really objected to that word in any context and it actually caused a few altercations in the chat room.  But even more distressing to me were the girls who identified as "transsexual".   I have nothing against crossdressers but I really cannot quite relate to them.  At no point in my life did I ever think that my issue was really a part-time expression.  I tended to avoid approaching any girl who listed as a crossdresser.  Not trying to judge them in any but that's just not what I am.  A few of them would contact me and ask "how often do you dress?", "are you wearing stockings?", "do you have a nice pair of pumps on right now?"  So my responses go something like "umm dress?  I go to work as a girl.  I just came home kicked off my office clothes and am sitting here in shorts and a tank top nice and comfy."  So not really terrible, but again I don't want to judge, I am just not a part-time girl.

So back to those who identified as transsexual.  This is my real issue.  Time and time again I would go to a profile that said trans only to see very explicit pictures.  Male "junk" in all it's full size, normal sizes.  Now to me and MY definition of transsexual, that whole persona is absolutely NOT a transsexual.  I HATE my male parts.  I explicitly told people "don't ask, I am not a shemale".  I never showed my "junk" because to me it TRULY is JUNK and not something to be waving around for the world to see.  And any TRUE transsexual will be taking hormones which WILL have obvious effects on our "junk".  I had one foreign woman who I could not convince about my lack of male prowess because of the hormones.  She wanted to know, "what do you mean it doesn't really work well anymore,  how can that happen?"  She said she liked trans girls because they were pretty but she still wanted me to "be the man" when it came to sex.  I told her to look specifically for a shemale because they would not be taking hormones.  It was very difficult for her to understand that there ARE huge differences among trans girls.

So now on to the obvious conclusion AGAIN.  I really am agreeing with the growing group which does NOT want transsexual included within the "transgender" moniker.  There are HUGE differences between a real transsexual and ALL the other types.  

So there.  Let me come down off my little soap box.  I have my thoughts and others are entitled to their opinions but it really seems that this issue is more a matter of fact and really is not open to "interpretations".