being transmasc in a new workplace that didnt witness your transition firsthand and doesnt question your passing is like. getting consistently he/him'd without anyone "slipping up" and apologizing profusely to you, making you have to reassure them. getting a compliment on your first name, juggling the urge to say "thanks i picked it myself" with how you think the person talking to you will receive your transness. hearing co-workers talk about meeting old friends from school "even when time passes you're still pretty recognizably the same person" while you dont look like a picture of yourself from 2 years ago since you started hrt and its a great source of joy to you that you got to become a new version of yourself. meeting someone who used to share a former workplace with you, asking you if you'd crossed paths there and yes, you did, but that was before your beard grew and is it worth the hassle explaining? figuring out the measure of jewlery and nail polish you like to incorporate into your appearance enough to communicate an unspecific queerness without triggering your own dysphoria. having old white male cishet co-workers smile at you blankly and become more distant in everyday conversation because they dont know how to deal with you wearing nail polish as a guy and giggling about it to yourself. the epic highs and lows of getting to be whatever you wanna be, i guess,
