Thank You Sally

Do you know who I stole my blog's design from?  Well, okay, I didn't really steal it in the literal sense of stealing, but this blog is entirely based on Sally McGraw's original Already Pretty blog.  When I found out that Sally actually checked out my blog, I was slightly horrified that she would send me a cease and desist letter! Ha!  I am sure I am over dramatizing the situations, but still, this site looks very similar to the original Already Pretty site.  Even the idea of interspersing topical posts with outfit posts was taken directly from Sally.

Why such utter adoration for Already Pretty?  Well it is possibly the only blog I have read consistently since I discovered blogs.  But also, I have really enjoyed Sally's message of acceptance of oneself.  She has tried to consistently deliver a body positive message to the world.  It is a message that I really benefited from hearing.  It wasn't directed specifically towards the transgender community but it is something that I read about with interest.

Myself, and so many of us transgender folk, suffer from huge issues associated with how our body looks.  Upon reading Sally's messages I slowly began to realize how much disdain I have for my own body, but Sally also offered me a solution to my dilemma, that did not involve transition; you can use clothes to help you look more like you think that you should.  Sally impressed upon me that clothes can be a magical tool to wield in the fight against one's self image.

Yes I know, for many of us, clothes are not enough to hold back the tide of dysphoria, but within clothing I found a way to see a side of me that I have attempted to hide for the vast majority of my life.  Being able to understand that within the simple act of picking the right clothes can change my entire outlook on life has been invaluable.  I mean seriously, being able to use clothing to give me an external look that is congruent with my internal image has helped save me in ways that I could never repay Sally for.

On top of all of this that she has already done for me, she now helps to support me as a writer.  Awhile back I contacted her and praised her for an article of hers that I read at Sister House.  This email shortly resulted in her asking me to be a contributor to Already Pretty.  Me?  Wow!  I was blown away by the prospect holding such an honorific position and obviously I accepted!

I have been so thrilled to be able to write for a blog that I hold in such high regard.  Sally asked all of her contributors if they would like to continue to write for Already Pretty even though she herself will no longer be publishing new content.  Three of us decided to stay on for now and see what the future holds.  As if all of this was not above and way beyond, Sally and I have also had some recent emails back and forth regarding her assisting me in possibly writing my very own book!  Wow!

Sally is moving on from her blog, but trust me in that if you have not read her material it is well worth it to go back through and peruse it!  She is also moving on in her writing career and even you may benefit from her awesomeness!  I highly recommend you go check out her site at Sally McGraw and see what this super talented, kind, caring individual can do for you!

With all that I have, thank you for all that you have done for me and for the world Sally, you are a magnificent person and you have done great work and I am sure you will continue to do so.

images:
By Ashashyou (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Sweet viiiooo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons