There were times I felt so anxious, almost like I was crawling out of my skin, that if I didn't do something physical to match the way I felt inside, I would explode. I cut myself to take my mind off that. I just didn't care what happened. I had no fear.

I grew up in the South where there's discrimination, and when I witnessed the judgment around me, I always thought someone needs to stick up for not just the LGBT community but any outsider, anybody that wasn't the mold in Texas.

You have the capability to change your life all with a simple shift in perspective

Every single day is a battle to stay strong.

That person I was when I was a lot younger is not who I am today.

There were times I felt so anxious, almost like I was crawling out of my skin, that if I didn't do something physical to match the way I felt inside, I would explode. I cut myself to take my mind off that. I just didn't care what happened. I had no fear.

I learned the power of storytelling and the responsibility that people with influence have to speak out