Euphoria

By Sherry Greer

What does this mean to you? On a scale of 1 to 10 where are you on the happiness scale? Can you look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I am happy”? If you can, that’s fantastic but…if you cannot, what are you going to do to change that?

Now, let’s throw in gender euphoria. Hopefully anybody reading this who is somewhere along the Trans spectrum has experienced this. A definition I found on the internet states that it is: “A distinct enjoyment or satisfaction caused by the correspondence between the person’s gender identity and gendered features associated with a gender other than the one assigned at birth.”

So…you’re asking, “why are you writing about this?” Well…A few days before Valentine’s Day I had an experience that I will never forget. Backing up a few weeks before that day I was looking on the internet for upcoming events and found a Galentine’s event that just happened to be directly across the street from one of my coworkers’ condos. I texted her and asked if she wanted to go. After looking at the website she agreed it looked fun and we both bought our tickets. The day finally came and I met her at a brewery just a block from her place. Even though it was chilly with some snow flurries everything was within walking distance which made things so easy. We walked into the brewery about an hour before the event started and were greeted with “hello ladies”, always nice to hear! We sat down, ordered drinks and then a couple of appetizers. The waitress came around a few times and always used female pronouns when speaking to us. Lori and I sat and talked about a few subjects as we drank and ate and it was just nice, casual, and comfortable. That’s how I felt…comfortable, comfortable being in my own skin. Comfortable dressed as I wanted to be dressed. After about 50 minutes we paid our tabs and walked over to the event.

As we entered the large coffee house where the event was I was immediately absorbed in the warmth of femininity before me. There were little booths set up consisting of: a manicurist, hair braiding, a selfie booth, massage station, someone selling jewelry, a watercolor painting station, a coloring station and a few more! Every booth I stopped at and every person I spoke to were amazing and I was totally and completely accepted in this world of female warmth. To this day I feel warm and amazing when I think of my experience. I received a massage and got my hair braided! Lori and I walked around together talking with the various vendors, taking pictures, and drinking a glass of wine. The entire time I felt like I was having an out of body experience. I felt like I was looking at the event from above yet feeling everything that was going on. I can’t stress enough on how wonderful I felt and how burned into my psyche that entire night of pure bliss is.

After about 90 minutes we left and went to a restaurant to get some dinner. Lori lives in an area that is very walking friendly with many restaurants and other little shops that will be fabulous in the warmer months to visit. As we walked in the restaurant we were again greeted with “hello ladies”. We decided to sit at the bar to eat and drink. The bartender was very friendly and she always interacted with me using female pronouns. Lori and I talked about the Galantines event while eating as well as some work issues. After a quick 75 minutes it was time to go. We paid our tabs and we walked to my vehicle which was parked across the street from her place. We hugged and said our goodbyes. I made sure she got into her condo before I left.

The entire evening was wonderful and it was just two women doing what women do. I truly don’t think I have ever felt as comfortable as I did that night. I definitely can’t wait to experience that again. All I can say is that the feeling of euphoria is an amazing and wonderful experience. It is addictive and something that I will feel again. The warmth and spirit of femininity is pure adrenaline.

Stay beautiful-Sherry