PT has the rights to the Day Thread by being born on this date well before July 21 became a significant date for me. But I like to grab the Night Thread.
Anyway, on the evening of July 21, 2020, I downloaded an app called FaceApp, took a selfie, and ran it through a filter to change the picture from male to female. When I looked at the result, I was floored. I said to myself, “This beautiful woman is inside me, and I need to bring her out into the world.” That’s when I finally figured out I’m trans at the age of 47.
(OK, I didn’t come up with the name Julia until the next day – I started brainstorming, with the picture as a guide. When the name Julia popped into my head, seemingly out of nowhere, I looked at the picture and thought, “She looks like a Julia.” Side note: FaceApp predicted my hair would stay very straight as it got longer. It didn’t get that part exactly right, but I love the way my hair ended up, so I’m OK with that.)
I can’t believe it’s been five years. It’s been a wild ride, and The Avocado has been a huge part of it. While I did create a Twitter account for Julia (which I’ve basically abandoned due to the change in ownership), I made no references to my past self. This is really the first place where I told people that I knew before. I’m not the first Avocado to realize I’m trans, but I’ve seen how supportive people here have been for the others (and I was supportive, too – I’d like to think I was an ally back then). And I still welcome all the love and support I’ve gotten, even if that wasn’t really a surprise.
Embertine was the one who came up with my new user name. She said that Julia Krellis sounded like a fantasy crime writer with great hair and a bottle of Chablis in her fridge, and I still love that description. I may not be able to write worth a damn (as you can see), but I’m quite happy with my hair style for the first time in my life, and I do have a bottle of Chablis in my fridge. (When I tried the Chablis, I didn’t care for it, but it’s still there, and has been for well over a year. At this point it’s probably closer to battery acid than wine, but it makes for a good story.) I don’t mind keeping Krellis around as a “last name,” mainly because it lets me continue to refer to my parents as Ma and Pa Krellis. (My parents have been amazing, by the way. Yes, I know exactly how lucky I am, but I’m sure they’d adopt you if you asked.)
And even if it’s not my birthday (though there are certainly some trans folks who celebrate the day they realized they’re trans instead of the day they were born), I’m still posting Birthday Cat.
Anyway, thank you all for the love and support. It means more than you’ll ever know.
Post cat pictures, and be excellent to each other.