I didn't want to hijack the other post on perception, so I decided to start a new post.
I don't care on how I'm perceived as long as I'm accepted for being what I am. I do go to church regularly as Nikki and while the church I go to is not a predominately LGBT, I enjoy it in that I have to deal with the real world.
I was invited to this church by another one of us ( she has since stopped attending), but I continued to attend in that I felt comfortable with some of the people although some were a little distant. As time progressed I notice more and more people are coming up and interacting with me and I feel more accepted than before.
Just being myself, I'm making more friends and on top of that I feel more comfortable being me.