Chelsea Manningis feeling free. <\/p>\n
The 29-year-old transgender soldier, who spent seven years in prison forleaking700,000 classified documentsto WikiLeaks, shared a photo of herself walking along the beach in a red one-piece bathing suit. The photo comes from feature on Manning in the September issue ofVogue. <\/p>\n
Guess this is what freedom looks like, she captioned the image on Instagram. <\/p>\n
The shot of Manning, who smiles as she runs her hands through her hair, was taken by veteran photographerAnnie Leibovitz. <\/p>\n
RELATED VIDEO:Chelsea Manning Released from Prison After Seven Years for Leaking Government Secrets <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The accompanying story forVoguefollows Manning as she nervously prepares to attend anafter-party for the Lambda Literary Awards, an event that honors LGBTQ writers. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by admirers. <\/p>\n
Its a completely different scene than where she grew up in Oklahoma. <\/p>\n
I knew that I was different, Manning tellsVogue. I gravitated more toward playing house, but the teachers were always pushing me toward playing the more competitive games with the boys. <\/p>\n
She recalls, I spent so much time wondering, Whats wrong with me? Why cant I fit in? <\/p>\n
Manning, born Bradley Manning, served a portion of her original 35-year sentence for leaking classified documents.Shortly before finishing his second term as president, Barack Obama shortened the sentence for Manning. <\/p>\n
I appreciate the wonderful support that I have received from so many people across the world over these past years, Manning said in an exclusivestatement to ABC News at the time. As I rebuild my life, I remind myself not to relive the past. The past will always affect me and I will keep that in mind while remembering that how it played out is only my starting point, not my final destination. <\/p>\n
Manning confirmed that she identified as a woman just one day after her 2013 sentencing. She began her gender transition while in prison, although she had made appearances as a woman since as early as 2010. <\/p>\n
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