My name is Julie Marin and this is my personal page for 2007.
I will warn you ahead of time, I am fairly long winded but I do have some important things to share and you may be entertained to read on; if for no other reason than to be informed.
My children are very important to me and they are the reason that I get up in the mornings; literally. You see I work swing shift and well the kids are on a day shift schedule! They make my day!
My other interests include clinical psychology, gender studies, forensic psychology, crime scene reconstruction, behavioral profiling, photography, writing, local and organizational history, Native American culture & history, and search & rescue dog-training. A return to college is in my future, to be sure!
This promises to be a special year for me on both personal and professional fronts. Some of the topics that I will discuss here include my law enforcement career, my retirement, and moving past �the job� into another adventure in my life. I am passionate about writing. I enjoy writing fiction and true crime. With my background, this may give me some opportunities.
A little background may be in order to help put things into perspective for new readers.
I am a proud parent of (7) children, ranging in ages from 25 to 14 years. Four of these children are biologically mine, two are step-children that I helped raise, and one is adopted and is as much as part of the family as the others. I am very proud of all of the kids.
Of special note is that, I have two of my adult children whom I will be pinning badges on this year. They have made me extremely proud. I have been a police officer all of my adult life, coming into the job at age 19. As I grew I swore that I did not want any of my kids following in my footsteps, but with time comes an understanding that they, as I, did not listen to my parents in this regard. Both of these kids are smart, and have a lot of integrity. I think that they will make wonderful LEO�s.
My other adult children are in the fashion industry and human services. They have done well for themselves also starting adult lives full of passion and adventure. The three kids that are still in school are of significant interest to me, as they are still being molded and tasked to make good common sense decisions about a life that they have not concrete concept of. Life is unfolding for them and I wish them happiness as they seek their fortunes, futures and loves.
As my children begin their careers I am coming to the end of this part of my life, with retirement close in sight. I have done many things in my career. I am proud of most of my professional accomplishments and lived to tell the tales of many of the things that I have experienced. While I am not �proud� of some of these things, they are part of who I am and helped shape a very full and exciting career spanning nearly (30) years.
I have been in shootings, stabbed, in car chases, hunting murders and rapists, and have worked long-term undercover in the child pornography industry for nearly three years. I have had other assignments in the gang unit, narcotics/ covert investigations section and many assignments working �special assignments� for the Office of the Chief of Police, dealing with child sex rings, officer involved criminal investigations, serial rapes and some of the ugliest crimes imaginable to mankind.
With all of these experiences, comes an opportunity to share these subjects and events with people, so that they can have a glimpse into the lives of the men and women that protect and serve their communities. I am interested in conveying these experiences and my understanding of the �job�, to those interested.
In 1998 I began another journey of sorts; one which put my life on hold for a time. I have known that I was transsexual since my earliest memories in childhood. I tried over the years to conceal these feelings because society does not and certainly did not understand them in the 1960�s, 1970�s and 1980�s. After trying to be what everyone else in my world saw and wanted me to be, I came to the end of my ability to continue in my anatomic birth gender.
I had researched Gender Identity Dysphoria (GID), gender issues, and transsexualism over the years. Finally after many years of therapy, I decided that I needed to accept myself. Being �authentic� and honest with the world about your gender different feelings is a harrowing experience. It can and was for me, quite humbling. Very few people understand let alone accept, that you have a right to determine who you are and how other people see and perceive you. While we may be identified in a moment of time as male or female, that does not mean THAT is who or what we are. Gender is so much more complex. We do have the right of self-determination about this very intimate sense of who we are. I chose to do what I needed to make my life whole, so that I could be here for my children and for their future.
I transitioned genders from male to female in 2001 and finally had Gender reassignment surgery (GRS) in Phuket, Thailand in 2003. I returned to work in 2004 with a renewed sense of self, but with a twist, as I had to re-establish my credibility as a newly minted female officer when I returned to work. There were those that thought that I was looking for an early retirement, not knowing that I bled "Serge Blue". I would like to think that I have proven that I can do this job as a woman, just as well as I had when I was preceived as male. This accomplishment was not all of my own doing and there are a number of friends who made this happen. I am endebted to them and they have my respect, my loyalty, and my friendship. After losing so many "friends" when I transitioned, I do nto give it readily. My new friends have continued to show me what the word means and I strive to learn from their actions. Friends are the spice of life!
One of the most profound things that I have done since acknowledging my own gender issues was to seek, contact and organize other law enforcement professionals into a social and professional organization. I helped found this group, along with about (15) other LEO�s. It is one of the proudest achievements of my life, thus far. The men and women of TCOPS (the Transgender Community of Police & Sheriffs) are among the best that I have had the pleasure of meeting. Their character, dedication, and integrity continually impress me. They are caring officers from various disciplines within the criminal justice field. They protect and serve, all while dealing with GID and the emotional toll that it takes upon their families and themselves. I have the utmost respect for them. They are my heroes!
You can find TCOPS at www.TCOPS.org and our discussion group at [email protected].
Lastly, there is a special guy in my life. He has brought me hope and happiness; both things that I have only dared to wish for. I pray that 2007 plants the seed of a long-lasting relationship, full of family, friends, a wonderful future.
May 2007 Bring You All The Sweet Life!
