Quality is my principle and qualified is my attitude.

It's a struggle every day, to stay present, not to become that...eight year old who was bullied and chased home from school. Some days I wake up and it's like I'm eight years old again. And I'm scared for my life, and I don't know if I'm going to be beaten up that day.

The preoccupation with transition and with surgery objectifies trans people, and we don't get to really deal with the real lived experiences.

We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love. That's okay.

There are lessons in everything. The bad, the good. Our job is to listen, and to continue to learn, so that maybe we get better at this. Maybe get better at life.

So often, trans roles don't even go to trans actors. Most of the fabulous trans roles that have won people Oscars, we didn't get to play. A lot of folks have said we're not trained enough and that we're not prepared to do whatever.

Seeing a black transgender woman embracing and loving everything about herself might be inspiring to some other folks.