Curious how long it took for you guys to accept yourselves? I feel like perhaps had I accepted things earlier, I could've sought out help earlier, and not wasted time....
I think it was about two years after I realised that I fully felt comfortable with being queer. I’m still struggling with being out (as in being out without my parents knowing so school is the main issue) and dealing with being trans outside of my friend group but I’m getting there.
Y'know, sometimes I wish I was just transgender or something, something solid and not a person that has to go, "Yes, I think I'm this, but I might be a bit of this too," just a whole list of things, because it's all so complicated...
I get that thought sometimes as well. Looking back, I can't really understand why I didn't tell people about my identity a year ago. But I think it's important to keep in mind that accepting being trans is a process and that getting used to a new understanding of yourself takes time. And that time is not wasted, it's time well spent discovering who you are and what you want to do regarding that identity. Besides, it takes a lot of learning to accept something people have told you to supress. Personally, I had never heard of nonbinary identities until two years ago and I didn't know any openly lgbt* people during my childhood and teenage years. From conversations I've had with other people the same applies to a lot of us. When you start out from that situation, accepting being different from what people see as the norm can be hard and it takes time. For me, it took nearly two years, and it's likely that I will look back on myself a year from now and think "wow, I was really insecure about my gender back then." even though I feel like I have finally accepted myself at the moment.
You realised exactly when you were ready to take it. Shifts in perception always happen only when we're ready for them.
It took me about a year to accept, but even now, after about 2 years, I still have days where I don't accept it. I am unsure if I will ever fully accept myself, and have no doubts.