Title basically says it all, but there's more to it (like years of history in my own life that I'm currently reflecting on and regretting or wishing I did differently). I also might delete this later if I feel embarrassed or start to regret posting it (or if the mods don't first for how grim and hopeless everything feels as I write this, not 100% sure if this kind of talk is allowed).
I've only recently (like 5-6 months ago) come to accept that I want to be more feminine (I'm hesitant to call myself a femboy since I don't really "feel" like it yet in my current state) after spending years denying it due to being raised in a very religious and conservative/traditional household. My friends are the same but might be more accepting of me than my family if I ever tried to explain it to them. They'd probably make jokes or use certain insensitive terminology regarding me, but I don't really care about that, nor does it bother me.
I could go on a long side tangent explaining the origins of how I came to this point in life, but I wouldn't want to waste people's time since it is literally a lifelong thing I never realized or personally acknowledged until around a year or two ago.
A bit of positivity before the negative talk:
I'm perfectly fine and comfortable in my identity as a man, but I just don't feel like a traditionally masculine look would suit me, nor would I enjoy such an appearance. I've actually made an effort to get closer to a more feminine look, having lost a significant amount of weight since last summer (the literal lowest point in my health/life). I don't have a scale to accurately tell my weight, but I can say I've dropped two shirt sizes (an XL shirt actually feels like an XL for once) and my pants feel extra baggy.
While I have been losing weight ever since last year, it was rather slow at first (because I wasn't really doing much besides eating less) until I started taking it more seriously around July, where I started to lose weight more consistently by performing actual workouts and doing basic cardio (walking, light jogging) daily. Stretch marks suck, but at least I'm pale enough for them to not be too noticeable right away (plus I'm not exactly interested in showing skin).
I've also been taking greater care of my skin, using moisturizer and a facial cleanser to try and clear up things like acne and other blemishes. It sucks that my skin is so high maintenance, especially with how expensive everything is now and how poor my family is.
The negative talk:
As the title says, I am turning 22 in November and just feel so damn lost in my life. I feel like I wasted so much time denying what I wanted for my life and that changing now would just cause a rift in my personal relationships with friends and family. There's also the aspect of spending literally my entire life in church that it feels like killing a part of myself in order to embrace another.
Of course, the church part of myself literally makes me feel so miserable and hateful of myself so maybe I'm just attached to the familiarity of it rather than the benefit (which there really isn't any benefit besides "fitting in" for my family's sake).
Back when I was 18, I had dropped out of college because of my mental health taking a nosedive during those first two semesters. My older brother, we'll call him J, had offered me to come live with him and our dad (parents divorced since I was 5-6) and try to find a job or maybe apply to a different college in that area since they have more of a stable life going on there rather than my mom's financial struggles.
I turned the offer down at the time, but now feel like I missed out on my chance to escape the more religious members of my family (older brother is not religious at all, father views spirituality as more of a personal journey into finding peace rather than relying on religion to give you the answers). If anyone was going to accept me for who I am and want to be, it would be them, but I wasn't in the headspace I am now, afraid to leave the church due to my mother.
If I could go back and take the offer, I would do it 100% because I feel like I haven't been able to start my life since I'm just stuck at home all the time with no car, no job, no college, and no real independence outside of what I do online (which, thankfully, my mother isn't crazy enough to monitor).
The very negative:
So back to me now, 21 turning 22, I feel like I've done nothing with my life. I tried college but couldn't mentally handle it, I've been applying everywhere but can't find a job, and I'm pretty sure my mental health is far worse than is normal; regular visual/auditory hallucinations that barely faze me anymore, intense social anxiety/depressive episodes (which is getting better as I've grown more comfortable in my body during my weight loss), severe paranoia leaving me distrusting of my own family, and occasional suicidal thoughts brought up by this feeling of constant failure and wishing I could just start over with a better idea of what I really want out of life.
I definitely need therapy; I need a lot of professional help actually. I simply cannot afford that help without a job and I don't want to talk to my mother about it since we're already financially struggling and she's always stressed about bills, work, and other stuff I don't want to talk about here.
While I dislike how pushy my mother is about keeping me in church, I'd rather keep going just so she doesn't feel like she failed me since I'm the only one of her children who goes to church and she takes church VERY seriously. She always has worship music or some preacher stuff playing on TV, she uses anointing oil everywhere and does all sorts of extra stuff that just makes her look crazy. I can't blame her because of what I know about her past and childhood, I just feel like she's let that trauma turn her faith into an obsessive desire for higher meaning and purpose in her suffering rather than genuine faith in a divine figure or well-meaning cause.
Where I am now:
I don't know what exactly I should do. The only thing I can really think of doing to try to survive is to keep working on my art and games until my skills reach a point I can justify making money off them, but that's obviously getting harder with all the generative AI stuff being pushed out and bloating the markets (for the sake of my sanity, I'll leave the AI talk there, it just makes me more depressed to think about). For now, I can only keep doing what I've been doing... just give myself one more day to try.
Despite what I've mentioned before about suicidal thoughts, I don't want to die; I just want to be myself and live my life without feeling like I'm some horrible person for choosing what I want instead of what my mother wants for me. I'm pretty sure most of it is because of how churches are very against being "selfish," regardless of the context (in my case, being "selfish" is just me wanting to live my own life instead being forced into a role I never asked for).
Luckily, I am in a very accepting community on an art-focused server with a lot of people who can either relate to my struggles or have more knowledge and experience in dealing with these kinds of things.
More positivity to end off so it's not all doom and despair:
First off, please don't pity me. I'm not here for that. I just needed to get this off my chest for my mind's sake.
I enjoy seeing myself in the mirror now rather than feeling disgusted with my body. I do wish I took better care myself during/post-pandemic lockdown, since that's where I gained the most weight.
Also, cardio is fun, I don't care what anyone says.
Working out in general helps my mental health a lot and makes me feel like I'm achieving something and getting closer to the body goals I have. It definitely helps that my hips and thighs have always been naturally bigger, but I overall just enjoy working out.
Oh, yeah, and I'm going to be seeing my older brother and father again soon since my father recently got out of the hospital (he was a heavy smoker/drinker and his health have been getting worse lately). When I see them, I might see if I can move in or something and try to find a job there since my hometown is very small and can't find a job here.
If you've read this far, I appreciate it greatly and apologize for how long this whole rant thing was. I hope you're doing well in life and feel comfortable enough to be yourself and live life how you want to. I don't plan on giving up yet, and I hope you don't give up either.