But believe it or not, there are a lot of advantages to the situation. Some you will already see if you take the time to look, others you'll come to know with time.
Think of all the things you hear non-transsexuals complaining about. The things they can't understand, the things they're confused by. Some of these things - in fact a large amount of them - come from the interplay between men and women. You will see straight, 'normal' couples breaking up over misunderstandings that you can plainly see the solution to, but try as you might, they don't get what you're saying when you try to point it out. A large amount of argument and non-cooperation between human beings has to do with people 'acting out' their gender roles. People being afraid to just be themselves, and unconsciously shoving themselves into the expected gender roles that society allows them, if they want a quiet life. They'll have been doing this since their infancy, and won't even realise they're doing it - they think that's their real personality. And perhaps it's so far ingrained now that it is indeed part of them.
But as you grow as a transsexual, you will come to realise the parts of your behaviour that were forced, false, not you. You'll also find that there are many things, attitudes you have, things you've learned, things you understand, that you could never have known if you hadn't been made to live as a woman. You'll understand the whole issue of gender interaction in a deep and profound way, that the average person will not. Therefore your relationships are far more likely to be successful, honest and true. Too many relationships are based on what the partners are 'supposed to be'. What they think each other is, based on the forced gender behaviour that they habitually act out.
To others, your perceptiveness will sometimes seem eerie, extraordinary. You'll seem so wise to them, so strong. They may find this intimidating and hold it against you; then again they may not. They may find it fascinating and gain great respect for you that they wouldn't have had if you'd 'stayed female' or just been born male in the first place.
Knowing that you have lived in female role, women will open up to you in a way they never would to 'normal' men. They'll respect your advice. And knowing that you've lived in female role, men will look to you like a guru to advise them on dealing with women.
You don't have to be 'out' to everyone you know - but the few friends who know about your past will look at you with more respect and trust, they'll put more value on what you say because of it. The things that they speculate about, you know for sure. When they ask those questions about men and women, the ones they never expect to get an answer to - well, you can give them one.
You have broken the mould - you have proved that people's perceptions of each other are hugely based on appearance - no matter how unprejudiced they claim to be. You know from experience the vast differences in the ways that people treat men and women, what they expect of them, how they speak to them. And you know what a load of bullshit it is!!
Your experience as a transsexual will inevitably make you a more tolerant person, more accepting of people, more open-minded. And this will in turn make you more successful in almost every way.
Look at those people in your office, your class at college, in the supermarket, at the cafe - look at them. Acting out their gender roles as society expects them to, without even knowing what they're doing. You can see it plain as day, but they can't, they think they're being themselves. Would you really rather be like that? Look at those men in the pub - they're so afraid to express their emotions, they're so frightened of being honest with themselves and their friends. There are so many things they want to talk about to someone but won't, because of the way they might be seen. All the bravado, all the ego, the total idiots they make of themselves when they're talking about women and making their judgements - how wrong they are! Would you really rather be like that? You have the ability to live on a level of honesty, a level of truth that these people don't even know exists. And you gained it almost by accident - you didn't even have to go looking for it!
Think of the courage, the determination and the wisdom it takes to go through with sex reassignment. The resourcefulness and legal knowledge you acquire when you're living your 'real life test'. Would you have those qualities if you had been born 'normal'?
For some reason, statistics show that transsexuals are more intelligent and more creative than ordinary people*. Perhaps it's because of the unique perspective on life that we can gain, seeing it from both sides - it means we will look down every 'avenue' of reality, where others will be blind to some of these avenues because of the restrictions of their self-inflicted and society-perpetuated gender mentality.
In the past, all over the world, transsexuals have been thought of as blessed, shamanistic, powerful and wise people. We were sought after for advisors, sexual partners, generals and rulers. We can count in the ranks of our history, emperors, warriors, doctors, surgeons, scientists, humanitarians, peacemakers, counsellors. And in these roles we have flourished and excelled throughout history. It was only when the monotheistic religions gained dominance over our culture that we began to be seen as 'freaks' that stubbornly refused to fit into the narrow set of categories and rules these religions - or at least, their leaders and followers - demanded.
Transsexuals can be 'trap hunters'. We have lived, visited, examined and turned upside down areas of thought and consciousness that average people as yet have no awareness of. We've been there before the rest of humanity. We've fought the battle, looted the field and burried the bodies while the average people were still putting on their armour. In this unique position, we can be of great benefit to the world, and to our loved ones. So, our minds are ready to start putting the battlefield to use - to clear away the debris and see its potential. We can go to places in consciousness before anyone else, feel the way ahead of them and mark out the black spots. We can be forewarned, forearmed - and we can help others to be as well, if they'll listen to us.
This is not to say that we're superior to non-transsexuals. This is simply to emphasise that we are different, in a good way. Just as they know things we don't, such as what it's like to have the childhood that we were robbed of, we also know so many things that they don't. It's a fantastic trade-off, and I think, worth all the pain it takes to get there.
* I do have evidence and references to back this up, I'm just working on a way to get them onto the web page without having to spend many hours typing them up!!