About me

Hello and welcome! My name is Mara and I'm thrilled you're here.

I'm a parent and trans woman in my 30s trying my best to live a fulfilling life. I'm a very introspective person. I enjoy reading, watching, and listening to all things involved in building and maintaining a meaningful life, along with discovering how my trans identity fits into the life I am living.

I'd like to share a bit of my story with you.

I spent years reading self-help and personal development. Looking for something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Just hoping that one day all the collective knowledge would somehow make a deep impact on my life.

And it did! Just not how I had expected.

Somewhere along the way, all my angst boiled over and cracked my egg.

I realized what I was running from. I am transgender.

This emptiness I've been trying to fill was from not living my life in alignment with who I knew I was at my core.

This realization sparked years of excitement and terror.

How do I explain this to my family, to my friends, to myself? Is my life over?

Is my life just beginning?

I wasn't the type to jump straight to HRT. I had a whole life built up around me, I couldn't just take the leap so brazenly. I figured I could think myself out of this.

I could find a good enough reason as to why transitioning would not fit into my life and stuff it all away. I'd come out on the other end unscathed.

Turns out, that's just not how being trans works.

It took several years, but I eventually realized that I was spinning in circles and placing imaginary road blocks in my path.

I still struggle with my purpose in life, how to be a good parent, and what it means to life a fulfilling life.

These struggles aren't unique to the trans experience, but the trans experience deeply warps our perspective and the solutions to overcoming these struggles.

This is how Craving Realness was born.

I want to share my experiences with you.

My goal with this newsletter is to share my trans journey along with the ideas, insights, and golden nuggets of wisdom I come across. I summarize interesting content I find and I share my own personal thought and experiences. I keep the posts short and sweet and try to provide actionable steps you could take in your own life.

Craving realness in your inbox? Subscribe now and let’s explore the depths of identity and life together.