Birth of the new, death of the old.

[Jenessa]

What did you do with the old you? Bury, burn, throw away, save or other? I don't want to just get rid of every thing, so I put a certified Copy of the decree, a copy of my Dr's letter, all my old bonafieds (DL, SS card, debet card/CC's, insurance & registration, etc) in a Manila envelope, drew a tomb stone with my old name birthdate and the date the old me was removed from service. Also, is it odd that even though I still have to use my old birthday on legal stuff, I want to start celebrating my birthday on the day Jenessa was officially "born"? My friends run the gamut from both are okay, ones ok the other is odd to, both are a bit off.

[I Am Paula]

I threw away my old ID. No need for a reminder. Photos of myself are a quandry. I have taken down any that were on display, but saved a box full. For what?
Among my trans friends, we all have a small celebration of the day we started HRT.

[Jorja]

I threw all that crap in a drawer and then the trash as soon as I was sure I didn't need it anymore. It's been 35 years now, haven't needed it as yet.

[GabbiSophia]

I toy with this idea now and agian. I will not deny who i am and that includes how i got here. Though that doesn't mean I will display it for all to see. I find on am on the fence on a ton of the items. Can you fully transition while still holding to the past though. I am perplexed

[PretzelGirl]

I hadn't thought about it but I will probably be inclined to throw it all in an envelope and put it in the safety deposit box. Then when I die, my kids can toss it or have a keepsake. I won't care then. I will have a license, military ID, Passport, Social Security Card, and I still have my very first license with my pic as a 16 yr old. When my great grandkids do genealogy, they will probably love it.

Pictures are interesting. We have two large boxes full and on the top of each are binders and acid free pages to mount pictures to. The boxes have been sitting that way for many years. I suspect that even if I wanted to get rid of them, we would never get around to it.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

Be a unified person... you were always you...

You are not two people.

there is no harm at all in looking back at pictures or thinking about things you did as a boy....that was you.
....being confused and lonely all the time didn't make every moment of my life suck!!!there were parts i liked ...i do not want to forget them,,,

As a practical matter, any past you bury will simply rise up later, and it would be worse for wear and tear...

[noeleena]

Hi,

Simple, i am what i am from birth and nothing in my past is not of myself I did not change from how i was born my ? would be what could i change from and to what .

and those that know me know my past as well and they are part of my life then and now, and what ever is writen about me wether its Govt departments or other or schools and my photos im happy people know and why not ,

My past is about what i am now. with out that theres nothing so to be who i am i need my past so others can understand why we are different , and that means others after i bugger off can have the same acceptance iv had,

in my own way i,v paved a way for others to see and see we can be different yet not really that different not to be accepted with in socity and i,v proved you can . and will,

...noeleena...

[Jorja]

I toy with this idea now and agian. I will not deny who i am and that includes how i got here. Though that doesn't mean I will display it for all to see. I find on am on the fence on a ton of the items. Can you fully transition while still holding to the past though. I am perplexed

I threw away my old ID. No need for a reminder. Photos of myself are a quandry. I have taken down any that were on display, but saved a box full. For what?
Among my trans friends, we all have a small celebration of the day we started HRT.

What did you do with the old you? Bury, burn, throw away, save or other? I don't want to just get rid of every thing, so I put a certified Copy of the decree, a copy of my Dr's letter, all my old bonafieds (DL, SS card, debet card/CC's, insurance & registration, etc) in a Manila envelope, drew a tomb stone with my old name birthdate and the date the old me was removed from service. Also, is it odd that even though I still have to use my old birthday on legal stuff, I want to start celebrating my birthday on the day Jenessa was officially "born"? My friends run the gamut from both are okay, ones ok the other is odd to, both are a bit off.

Your past is a part of you. You cannot just lock it away, burn it, or throw it in the trash like it never happened. Accept it, cherish it, be proud of it, learn from it, like it or not it is who you are. The past is what has brought you to the present. That does not mean you cannot start forming new memories. As soon as they happen they will become your past also. As Kaitlyn said, You are not two people. You are one.

One day your life is going to pass before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
- Gerard Way

[Kris Avery]

I threw all that crap in a drawer and then the trash as soon as I was sure I didn't need it anymore. It's been 35 years now, haven't needed it as yet.

Wow, you sure don't look a day over 35. Very very nice picture Jorja.

[Jorja]

Thank you, Wendy. Plastic surgery works wonders!

[LeaP]

The best analogy I can think of are the pictures from my prior marriage – right back to the wedding albums themselves. I don't look at the stuff. I don't cherish it. It doesn't bring back happy memories. (Pictures of children or with children are completely different.) My thinking is that this will be stuff that's passed along to children that is of more value to them than it is to me by far. It is, in fact, a part of their heritage.

I can't see saving a lot of routine paperwork and IDs. I would save old passports, since they are sometimes needed. I only have one license from the past. The states I've lived in always take the old one when you get a new one.