Hey, nicoleb2! The hell with them. Be yourself. Be how you feel. You're tough enough to take the flak. They all deserve to know you as you really are, whether family, friends, church or wherever, you have the personal, human RIGHT to be yourself, however you may feel at that moment. Don't exaggerate, don't be dramatic, just be honest, be frank, be candid about who you are and what you're feeling.

Sure, some people will reject you. Do you care? They would never have cared for the real you. And many may surprise you by sticking with you, caring about your feelings as you display them, and paying more attention to you than they have in the past. Your display of fake feelings only makes you fake friends and fake family. Do you need or want that? Be honest, show your real feelings, relax into being your real self all the time. It's been a long time since women felt that they had to wear girdles or corsets to appear properly in public. And what you're forcing yourself to do is quite similar to having to wear a very tight girdle or corset.

If they're not willing to accept you as you really are, as you really feel, they're just not worth holding on to, whether as friends, family or fellow church members. I think you may be pleasantly surprised at how large a number stand by you when you make your big change, when you ease into being who you really are and what you really feel. This is the 21st Century. Time to let go of those old self-restrictions on who you can be and who you are! Take very good care.