Calie's Chronicles

I don't often get to follow some blogs as closely as I'd like, but find myself making more of a concerted effort to follow Calie of Calie's Chronicles (READ HER BLOG HERE). (Plus, she's a friend of Rebecca's ;) )
Her many experiences and thoughts were so similar to my own, and she expresses her emotions very clearly. Her latest blog "Letting the Shields Down" hits the mark when she explains

I guess what I am trying to say is that I can feel like the real "me" just by being with someone who accepts me and understands me which allows me to release the shields that are almost always up.

Have you ever felt like that? When I first began making friends with accepting attitudes towards my T-ness, I quickly felt the need for makeup and dress much less significant. Nowadays I'm quite comfortable wearing a blouse and jeans, but there was a time when even that just wasn't quite enough.

Until someone friendly enough came along allowing me to let my shields down.