Member-only story
My Transgender Transatlantic Dream Cruise Had To Have an Ending
And I’m OK with going back to being Cinderella

I finally got to my Cinderella Ball after an entire lifetime of dreaming and wishing. I went to the ball as pretty as I could be, in a lovely gown, and danced late into the night on a solo cruise across the Atlantic … as me.
I even danced a waltz with a handsome Prince Charming.
By midnight I was back in my bed knowing in the morning I would be back to washing dishes and cleaning out the fireplace as usual.
No glass slipper, and I wasn't looking for Prince Charming; I was attending my gender debutante ball.
I am a transgender woman.
My transition started after years of gender denial, the brutal experience of gender dysphoria, and the cruel realization that I had to continue my male persona to meet the gender constraints of my job and as well as my personal life.
I was offered the opportunity to take a Cunard transatlantic cruise on my own. It allowed me to be the gender I am, not the biological body I was born with. I got to be me without restraint. I met wonderful people who accepted me as Emma, I could go to a glamorous gala event in the ball gown of my dreams and finally, be asked to dance a waltz with a…