Transition Fellowship - Arts & Sciences: Fill & Download for Free

I started transition at age 50. I’m 62 and I’ve legally changed my gender and name to correctly identify myself. I went back to college, earned a bachelor’s with honors, was awarded a full fellowship, a spot in the master’s program, and a teaching gig at a major US university, and I feel just fine, thanks.I did it. So can you. Here’s how:Step 1: See a therapist, immediately. STAY with that therapist for at least a year and thoroughly explore your gender issues. (Hint: don’t start the first session—or the next ten—by announcing: “I wanna be a woman!” The therapist knows this. The question is why and then how, not what)Step 2: When you and the therapist have come to a consensus on all of the items on your gender list and you have both decided that transition is right for you, she—I highly recommend a woman therapist—will write you a recommendation to see a medical specialist (usually an endocrinologist or an internal medicine specialist, sometimes an OB-Gyn) who will then examine you thoroughly, order a series of tests which will include blood panels, hepatic (liver) functions, heart function, and anything else the physician might think of relevant to your case. If your heart, liver, and overall systems look good, he or she will then prescribe a form of estrogen: injections, patch, pills. Your doctor—with your input—will decide which is appropriate for you.Step 3: Go home and re-evaluate your wardrobe. If what you used to wear as a male seems inappropriate, then donate it. Buy some new things, even if they’re androgynous. You’re re-setting your life, restarting it. Even if you aren’t much into fashion or frills, the way we decorate our bodies indicates the “role” we are playing. Life is performance art and gender is part of our lives. Your presentation is a personal thing and how you express yourself, especially through the first year of transition and RLE (Real Life Experience) is vital. Play it as you feel. This is the time to be yourself and determine what that will look like to the outside world.Warning: the phenomenon known as the “Pink Bubble,” a combination of enormous psychic relief and the effects of hormones can lead to extreme giddiness and the desire to act out exaggerated interpretations of your view of femininity. Guard against that. You will be in what is essentially a second puberty. Do you remember your first puberty? Was it embarrassing or difficult? Don’t repeat your mistakes. You’re an adult now, so act accordingly and be aware that you are in the most difficult space you will ever occupy. You’ll get through it, but you will have to display enormous courage and determination. Bluntly, you’ll have to be as tough as nails and wear armor like an Imperial Stormtrooper.The best of luck to you! Remember, I did it, so can you!Edited to add: If surgical intervention is on the list, then discuss this with your doctor. He or she will recommend more specialists in plastic surgery, Gender Confirmation Surgery, and anything else you might feel you need in order to bring your body into correct alignment with your internal gender map. (You and your therapist will discuss this in exhausting detail) Some of us elderly transitioners can’t get the necessary surgeries. This will be an enormous hurdle, but fear not. Many of us can and do live without much of the necessary surgeries to physically correct our bodies. You too can reach this understanding with yourself, but it won’t be easy.On the other hand, if the doctors give you a thumbs-up on surgery, start saving your pennies! It’s expensive, less so in Thailand, but hideously pricey here in the States. It’s a trade off. Investigate your options thoroughly: Price vs risk and quality? It’s your decision, but I urge you not to rush into any bargain deals. One of the unfortunate facts regarding GCS is that Western trans women, with their larger pelvises and anatomy run a higher risk for complications in GCS. It’s not a huge risk, but it’s something to be aware of. Do your homework!

I am a student of Liberal Arts, and I understand the confusion or curiosity erupting in your mind. After my engineering, I chose liberal arts, not knowing how will I understand courses that I had only distantly imagined and heard. In the course of one year what I realized is, every subject is important to understand an issue completely and holistically. It was a very good learning experience at Young India Fellowship, more to do with life, than living.Hence it doesn't really matter what subject you choose as your career, doors for other career options are always wide open. It is up to you how you make the transition.All the best!

You bring up an excellent question that speaks to one of the most important skills learned during graduate school - prioritization. The "most time consuming thing" will change from year to year and even month to month depending on expectations, deadlines, maturity of the project, and even the funding climate in your field. Overall, the most time consuming part of the first year is coursework (by far). In the second and third year, students are expected to split their time reading, studying for qualifying exams, and doing experiments. In the final two or so years, most of a PhD student’s time is spent in the lab, finalizing protocols, writing (manuscripts and, if applicable, the preliminary thesis defense), and generating new hypotheses to test using the tools at your disposal. In the last 6 months, the most time consuming thing about graduate school is writing the final dissertation and preparing for the transition out of graduate school (training students and applying for jobs).Overall, graduate school is a learning experience in patience, managing expectations (both your own and your PI's), time management, and mental agility. It will teach students to develop technical competency and soft skills that are transferable to a variety of careers outside of graduate school. At its core, every PhD program should teach the above skills. However, every project, lab, supervisor, and student is different so experiences may differ wildly.I suppose the most apt answer for most people is that they spend the most time in graduate school reading and writing, which is why I stress to incoming students that they should write as many fellowship applications as possible to practice their critical thinking and writing skills. Manuscript writing is an art-form but can be learned through practice. It seems silly, but incoming graduate students also likely need some training in how to read scientific papers - journal clubs are a great solution.Best of luck!