“It really was an honor to be able to stand on that stage and, hopefully, help educate the country a little bit more about transgender equality. More than anything else, I wanted to reinforce the simple fact that transgender people are people, who hurt when they are mocked, who hurt when they are discriminated against, and who want to be treated with dignity and fairness.”

“Every person who comes up and asks to share, has never left me. Every friend or colleague who said I’ll watch your door, I’ll send that email, I’ll pick y’all up, y’all can stay at my house, has never left me.”