I've finally come out to all my university friends and some high school friends. It's taken a while, because for the first 2+ years of starting HRT, I've become somewhat of a reculse, avoiding meeting people due to the constant questions about changes to my general appearance and me not being in a very good mental state. Usually I adopt the show and tell approach...so far it has been quite a fun experience. Seeing them stare at me quizzically for a few seconds before realising who I am, or jaws dropping upon the realisation. Some ask non-stop questions after, while others tend to default to normal interactions before messaging me later on when the knowledge has sunk in. 

Even though I still feel some tingling of nervousness in my fingers when I come out to friends, there is a certain gleefulness and anticipation when I am about to meet one of my old friends who doesn't know I'm transgender. So far the experience have been great, although it could be because my circle of friends are generally less conservative or non-religious. 

The best experiences so far have been when friends just default to regular interactions and asking empathetic questions about how I am doing. Some immediately started using my chosen name and pronouns, including updating their handphone contact to reflect this. Some offered to support when coming out to others, or a listening ear if I needed. I am very grateful to these friends. 

With my FFS in Oct, I will be coming out to more people in the next few months (maybe everybody), as I move towards my goal of living full time as a woman, including presenting at the workplace. I think that the coming out experience will be a lot more mixed than compared with friends, especially since Singapore is still quite conservative. But it is part of the transgender experience that I need to just go through. Who knows, there could be some wonderful experiences along the way.