I’m still confused on the differences between  trans-gender, transvestite, and transsexual…  just a tad confused.

This is more complex than I’m about to make it seem, but here’s the basic:

“Transsexual” describes someone who’s sex identity is different than their birth assigned sex. I know that probably meant nothing to you, so here’s a simpler version: “Transsexual” describes someone who changes or wants to change their sex (not necessarily medically: they could do so by calling their body something else or treating it differently).  For example, a male-bodied person who identifies as female, or a female-bodied person who identifies as male.

“Transgender” refers to someone who’s gender identity is different than their birth assigned gender. While “transsexual” refers specifically to sex, “transgender” refers specifically to gender.

“Transvestite” is an identity of someone who cross-dresses. It’s different from “cross-dresser” in that it’s more of an identity, while cross-dresser is more of a description, and in other ways, too, although I’m not that familiar with this issue.