Other transgender people seek her company and counsel. Among them last year was Sarah Parlow, also 38 and a transgender female whose journey was as different from Jessica's as it was similar.

Sarah had a fulfilling life in Austin, Texas, with a good job in the medical field and good friends. But last fall, wanting to be nearer to family, she moved to Pittsburgh, landed a job at a local hospital and sought out members of the transgender community so she could do some advocacy work.

She Googled "Transgender Pittsburgh" and one of the first results to appear was Jessica, whose activism had gained her prominence. They met for coffee at Crazy Mocha in Shadyside in October and quickly hit it off as friends.

For two hours the women discussed transgender issues, advocacy and their individual paths to transitioning.

Like Jessica, Sarah had known from a very young age she was female-gendered and felt isolated and alone. But unlike Jessica, she acted to affirm her true gender at a much younger age and now has been post-transition for more than half her life.

To affirm her true gender identity, Sarah knew she had to leave her hometown of Erie where life for a gender non-conforming person in a relatively small town was intolerable because of bullying. Moreover, her family was ill-equipped to deal with her obvious yet unspoken assertions of femininity, choosing instead to overlook them.

So it was off to the University of Pittsburgh. In her freshman year she sought out the Persad Center, which serves the region's LGBT community. There, amid tears, she verbalized for the first time she was female-gendered. Finally, she had the resources to help her claim that.

Counseling and hormone replacement followed. Being young and androgynous to begin with, blending in with other females her age was fairly easy.

"Unfortunately, in society blending is considered a better sign of success," the Shadyside resident notes, sunglasses perched atop her copper red hair.

"Blending can be a blessing. Twenty years ago, the environment was different for transpeople. Safety and access to certain privileges could be compromised if you were openly trans. Some of that persists today, but it only changes by people coming forward, being visible and demanding change."

Friends and family couldn't believe how much she had "blossomed" from a socially awkward, isolated soul, but Sarah realized that physically transitioning was only the beginning. There was no guidebook for the path that awaited.

"Now you're navigating the nuances of life, navigating relationships, the social situations, what you might run into at work, how much do you disclose, to whom and when. It's so far-reaching."

Sarah took a break from studies in 1997 to move out West with a friend to focus on and complete her transition. Living away from home afforded her anonymity and a much more liberal environment.

Following sex reassignment surgery, she went on to earn two bachelor degrees and a master's degree in nursing.

She moved back to Shadyside to see how she could give back by supporting and sharing with others in the trans community. Educating the general public is key.