\"That's the part of my life I replay the most: whether or not, living in Maryland and seeing a therapist [at age 19], I could have finally been able to say, 'This is who I am; this is what I want to do.' It was the first time in my life when I really considered transitioning. But I got scared. I really regret the fact that I didn't know or realize I already had the love I needed, especially from my aunt and sister just to seek support.\" <\/p>\n
She shared that she was \"a bit surprised by the outpouring of love and support\" she got after she did reveal that she's a transgender woman. \"If there was backlash, too (and there was), she doesn't seem to have registered it a tellingly upbeat response from a woman who now sprinkles hertweetswith hearts and rainbows,\" Vogue's contributing editor, Nathan Heller, wrote in the piece. <\/p>\n
While Manning doesn't know what her future career looks like, she does have a few guiding principles she hopes to live by. \"I have these values that I can connect with: responsibility, compassion. Those are really foundational for me. Do and say and be who you are because, no matter what happens, you are loved unconditionally,\" she said. <\/p>\n
\"It is OK to be who I am.\" <\/p>\n
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