Putting myself 'out there', with work, and... comedy shows?

[Ceera]

I've been living full time as a woman and undergoing medical transition since mid 2018, and socially female (while just cross dressing) since 2014. And I am fortunate enough to be able to pass pretty well as a cisgender woman.

But recently I have really been pushing my boundaries in two areas, in terms of putting myself into public situations, where I frequently have to interact with strangers.

Three months ago, I got my first job as a woman. Got hired as a part time cashier and floor sales associate at a JC Penney retail store in our local mall. I've done well enough there that I have already been promoted to the first step on the management team! My job has me talking directly to customers every day. My customers and coworkers like me and accept me as female. Only a few of them ever even indicate that they realize I am a trans woman. Quite a few of my customers clearly assume I have been female my whole life!

But recently I've added a new exercise in public presentation. A coworker convinced me to join her at open mic comedy nights once a week, at two downtown bars. We get on stage in front of up to 20 or so strangers and do a 5-minute stand up comedy routine. it's been fun!

Out of the 10-15 aspiring comedians who usually show up, most of us are LGBT, and two of the others are trans women. So my act has often centered on talking openly about my experiences as an out of the closet, queer trans woman. I've gotten a lot of complements on my comedy, and our typical audience members seem to like my shows. But again, it involves a lot of public talking and interacting with strangers. It also involves being out and about in public, on downtown streets, often in daylight. It has been a lot of fun, but definitely challenges my 'comfort zone'.