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

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

When I realised I was transgender I was so afraid of what my transition would do to everyone else in my life and how they would react to it and would I be rejected?

I've been embraced by a new community. That's what happens when you're finally honest about who you are; you find others like you.

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.

As you get older it's more confusing. Suddenly, there's more pressure to fit in to your assigned gender.

I thought, transgender people are much worse off than I am. That's why they're willing to risk everything to be who they are. But the older I got, the harder it got to stay in my body.