Next Step: First Meeting

[Gingerpriss]

Okay, so I have finally made contact with a "support group" from around my area. I live in a really rural town, filled with nice people and good clean country living, but little to no resources as far as support. So i have made contact, and put my name in for a visit to a support group in a town about 40 miles away. I go March 5th, and i am looking forward to it now, I just hope I don't chicken out. :straightface:

[kittie60]

Good for you dear. I also came from a rural farming community,and their wasn't. Nothing there for help unless you traveled 35 miles away. Support groups are nice and friendly. You'll enjoy yourself tremendously. Have fun. Let us.know how you make out please.

[Helen_Highwater]

As Kittie says, support groups are just so welcoming. I'm sure you'll enjoy every second of it.

What are you planning to do. Travel dressed or change once there?

[CandyGirl]

No need to be afraid, i actually went to one of those once and it was a great experience !
you will surely enjoy it.
Good luck.

[Gingerpriss]

As Kittie says, support groups are just so welcoming. I'm sure you'll enjoy every second of it.

What are you planning to do. Travel dressed or change once there?

I am planning on maybe changing there, I havnt decided if i will go dressed up or not my first time. It's that fight or flight mentality that I have. Former military, likes to know what the situation is before I commit, type of thing. :) Also, I have just come out of a purge cycle, as I call it, and am in serious need of wardrobe rebuilding...

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No need to be afraid, i actually went to one of those once and it was a great experience !
you will surely enjoy it.
Good luck.

Candy, I really hope I do enjoy it. It will be the first time I meet with others, in all reality. Iv been dressing since I was 9ish, and am 35 now...it's been a lonely life... I talked to the coordinator on the phone and was excited. We had a lot in common, we both like to build computers, and seemed to have a lot to talk about. If it works out, i would love to have my wife join...but baby steps for now.

[Helen_Highwater]

My advice would be to dress. Travel dressed if you feel confident about leaving and arriving back at the house or if not dress there. You will surprise yourself just how quickly you acclimatize to your surroundings

[Alberta_Pat]

First visits to new groups are daunting. Good for you taking this step towards acceptance.

As to dressing or not, most groups are happy to see you there. Once you attend the first meeting, you can decide if another is in order for you with this group.

Will you be able to meet with another member before the meeting? Sometimes this helps to feel more welcome. Also, if you do meet beforehand, you will have someone to walk in with you, thereby reducing the "I am on stage" feeling.

Go, enjoy and you will see that we are not alone in this world.

[Gingerpriss]

I am looking forward to it, and I think I'll just go and kind of hang back for a bit before I jump in. As i said before, I like to know the layout of a place and get a feel for the environment before committing. I am sure things will be fine, but my mind works in funny ways.

[Candice June Lee]

I went to my first support group meeting a few weeks ago. It was really informing and nonjudgmental. People were friendly and all too. Just recently they made some changes and put a young person who is a fetishist as the moderator. So now it's all about that person and other stuff that realty isn't transgender related longer it was. Otherwise it was a great group of people and I learned alot in my attendance there of.

[SHY KIM]

If your curious and interested do your best to try and make it. At least if it isn't the experience your looking for you will know and not spend eternity wondering "what if".
Plan and prepare carefully, be sure you know where your going, safe place to park etc... This will both help reduce anxiety and keep you and your identity safe.
You owe it to yourself:)
Kim

[Beverley Sims]

Go!
It will become a missed opportunity otherwise.

[Sometimes Steffi]

I started going out about 7 years ago to meet with someone from this forum in my local area.

She introduced me to 2 friends, and they introduced me to two friends, and before I knew it, I was going out with 10 to 20 girls. Now when I go out, it's more like 50 to 60 girls. I'm going out Saturday in my local area with over 60 other girls. But, I am in a big city, and this group has become so popular, that girls come from 50 to 60 miles away.

[flatlander_48]

A R:

One thing to remember about support groups is that usually what you find is a lot of shared experience. Many will have been where you are now. That shared experience is what brings people together.

DeeAnn

[AKADonna]

The first meeting can be really fun and exciting! At my first TRI-ESS meeting, I drove 90 miles fully dressed and arrived in the parking lot of a large hotel where the meeting was held. Upon crossing the lot in my heels and entering the front door of the hotel, the doorman, said "Good morning, Ma'am!" I was totally shocked and loved it and that set the stage for the meeting. About half of the attendees were dressed, but nobody made any issue of those who were not. A funny moment came when the guest speaker, a psychologist, talked about many CD issues. Afterward, I asked her how long she has been a CD and she politely informed me that she was a GG!!! How embarrassing, but it added to the fun for everybody!

I would suggest that, if you have some nerve, just go there dressed! But if you have any hestitancy at all, it really will be no big deal for you to be in stealth mode! Enjoy !

[Genny B]

If it's the same gathering Steffi and I will be at this weekend, you can change there and after meeting everyone you will want too!

Genny B