When I first realized that I’m transgender, I sat in my car alone, crying and shivering. Until that very moment, I had no idea that it was possible to feel both liberated and isolated at the same time.

Immediately, I pulled out my phone and sent a Facebook message to my girlfriend. “Baby, I just realized I’m actually a woman. Everything makes sense now. I love you.”

It seemed like an eternity before she messaged me back. “I love you, too, baby. I’m so happy for you.”

Many people felt that it was inconsiderate to break news that was so life-changing through Facebook, but they don’t realize that she and I use technology as our primary source of communication because we are both comedians and public figures.

“Are you going to write a Facebook status about it?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I think so. It’s all happening so fast. I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay, baby. I’ll be here for you.” Luckily for me, my girlfriend had never seen me as a masculine person, so the news didn’t surprise her whatsoever.

I inhaled deeply and realized that I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Whenever I’m panicking, my natural impulse is to tell the world how I’m feeling. Expressing myself is my way of relieving anxiety.

I posted to Facebook:

I've finally come to terms with something. I say this with complete lucidity and clarity, and saying it out loud made me feel freer than I have felt in my entire life. I identify much more with being a woman than a man. I'm sick of pretending to be "one of the guys." Anybody who has known me for years and years, if you really think about it, this is not that far-fetched, and if you're a close friend of mine, you can't really be that surprised. If you've got questions about what this means, I can't answer you articulately. It all came to me like a bolt of lightning and I'm still processing it. All I can say is that this makes sense to me and I needed to say it out loud.

Immediately, I shut off my phone and made my way back to work. By coming out so publicly, I felt like I had thrown my truth into the web of connectivity that weaves through billions of people.

An hour later, I checked my Facebook, and to my absolute shock, I had over 50 “likes” and hundreds of comments supporting me. I ducked down in my cubicle to hide my grateful tears from everybody in my office. I was so overwhelmed by the support that I couldn’t contain myself. Old friends and acquaintances from all walks of life--from exes, to classmates, and to former coworkers--told me that they were proud of me.

It felt surreal that while my entire life had changed forever, I was among hundreds of coworkers that had no idea what I was experiencing.

I’ve always heard that the Internet creates disconnects among people, but having the support from hundreds of friends on Facebook gave me the confidence to walk around my office with my head held high. I cringe thinking about how much harder this self-discovery would’ve been if I had to experience it without this amazing technology.

I did not feel disconnected from the world. I felt quite the opposite. Just because my friends weren’t there with me physically doesn’t mean they weren’t there with me in spirit.

When my girlfriend came home that night, we embraced and she told me how proud she was of me. I wanted to write about my experiences, and she encouraged me to document everything that I was going through. I had been writing blogs about my life for the past decade, so opening up about myself on the Internet was nothing new to me. I had just never opened up about something this personal before.

The more I wrote about my experiences, the more friend requests and Twitter followers I would receive. Occasionally, someone would write something cruel or rude, but my friends outnumbered these individuals by a large margin. For the first time in my life, I also developed a fan base, and several people began following me on my journey telling me that I was an inspiration.

When my gender euphoria began waning, the harsh reality of actually living my life as a transgender woman filled me with terror. I didn’t know how I would ever be brave enough to actually leave my house in a dress or a blouse. I had never worn women’s clothing before. All I had really done was identify myself.

I decided that I would take things slow and would use Facebook as a way to build courage over time. Whenever I would reach any type of threshold during my transition, I would let Facebook know.

I’m about to go to CVS to buy some nail polish for the first time. I’m really nervous. Wish me luck!

I held my phone close as I walked the nail polish aisles, and whenever I became nervous that people were staring, I would read encouraging Facebook comments to keep me at ease.

I’m proud of you!

You could do this!

Good for you!

Facebook was quickly becoming my best friend.

When one of my friends invited me out to go clothes shopping, I was so nervous at the prospect of publicly wearing women’s clothing that I was hoping I would dislike being a woman and would discover that being transgender was some sort of phase.

I held my phone close to my chest, just like I did when I bought nail polish for the first time, and I walked into the women’s clothing store to pick out my first outfit.

I put on a hot pink blouse, leggings, and high-rise boots and looked at myself in the mirror. My face lit up and I gasped. It felt like I was looking at who I really was for the first time. I had a radiant glow and smile that I’d never seen before. Immediately, I gave my phone to my girlfriend to snap a picture to post on Facebook. I was indescribably happy.

Immediately, my Facebook friends that had been following me through my experiences were so excited on my behalf that several of them were crying because they always wanted to see me this happy.

I finally felt like I was going to be okay and that it was okay to be myself.

I still get scared every time I leave my house. I expect the stares and the glares from strangers, and I fear violence happening against me, but my friends give me the strength to overcome these fears every day.

I still hear many people complain about Facebook, and some of their criticisms are valid. Some people do use it as a forum to push agendas, and arguments can get out-of-control. And maybe it does rob us from some face-to-face and real-life interactions.

But whenever I hear anybody talk about how Facebook has only been a detriment to society, I vehemently disagree. Had it not been for Facebook, I would’ve never had the courage to live my life openly. I would’ve still been a miserable person, never knowing why I was in a state of perpetual depression. I’d still be in the closet, or even worse, I wouldn’t even be alive today because the agonizing emotional pain was so overwhelming to bear at times.

I will always be grateful for this technology. Facebook saved my life.