"I was born in 1982, in a boy's body," recalls Sona Avedian – a trans woman and former Marine who shared her personal story in Youtube video earlier this year.
The video documents Sona's long journey towards coming out as a trans woman starting from childhood.
"I wanted to tell someone before going to college, but my parents began a rough divorce and I decided to go another route," Sona explains in the video.
"Ashamed of myself, I hid behind the mask of a U.S. Marine."
Feeling isolated and alone, Sona requested to be stationed in Japan for 4 years." It wasn't until 2001 that Sona stumbled upon the term "transgender" on the internet.
Finishing up with the U.S. Marine Corps in 2005, Sona worked as a contractor overseas and even started a family.
"I thought getting married would help me cope."
"In total denial of denial, I overcompensated." After 9 years living overseas Sona had reached a self-described "235 lbs of sadness."
In August of 2012, an exhausted Sona made the decision to make a serious change – she prepared to come out to her loved ones.
In November of 2012 Sona finally came out to her friends and family, making the decision to begin transitioning.
Sona's parting message: "This is not about passing, it never was. It's about being YOU, no matter what society thinks – and that is beautiful."
View this video on YouTube
Video is NSFW