Being self-supporting is important to me.

I had felt uncomfortable as a woman my whole life.

What mom cares about most is that I'm happy, healthy and enjoying my life.

Around 2001, I started analyzing lesbians. I started to realize that even really butch-acting or -dressing women still had a strong female identity that I never had.

For me, it was never a question of whether or not I was transgender. It was a question of what I'd be able to handle transitioning and having to do it in the public eye. One of the issues that was hard for me to overcome was the fear of that.

A lot of parents never speak to their transgender kids again that's not the case in my family.

It really bothers me when I see people doing my mother in drag. I mean, just imagine if you saw people doing that with your mother.