GTG asked: Tell us a little about your story? What motivated you?

The main point of my story is don’t feel like you’re alone, cause there’s a lot of people out there that feel the same way I feel, as I told in my story. … Don’t make the mistake I did of letting someone tell you you’re different cause you start feeling insecure. I had a lot of topics [to talk about], but was like, wait I know there’s going to be that one topic people are going to feel part of cause I know there’s a lot of people out there that feel lonely or misplaced or whatever. So I wanted to do a story I thought everyone would feel part of.

GTG asked: What would you like young women to take away?

Don’t let anyone tell you about you, because it puts you in a state of mind you do not want to be in. [T later thoughtfully added] I hope I contributed [to other young women] confidence, because if I was brave enough to say my story, maybe someone else out there will say, “Oh wait, maybe I’m not the only one”.

GTG asked: Is this violence?

My story shows emotional and verbal violence cause the way I dress and still I was constantly told that it’s not normal you should not be that way. And I always hear that comment “Oh it’s a phase,” and it gets kind of annoying because being you is not a phase, it’s who you are.