Quotes from Jazz Jennings

Let's face it: your average straight, cis-gender teenage boy isn't going to pursue a relationship with a trans-girl.

As a 15-year-old teenage girl, I can attest to the fact that boys dominate most conversations between girls my age.

Often, when a girl has a crush on a boy, her friend will dare her to speak to him or ask for a pencil, or better yet, let him know that she has a crush. Pretty risky stuff... It happens thousands of times a day in the lives of teenagers everywhere. Putting yourself out there. Daring to expose your true feelings.

Kids can be annoying. Especially teenagers - oh my gosh. They can be cruel.

The real me is happy and proud to be who I am.

Bathrooms have always been a big issue in my life. My parents fought for me to be able to enroll in elementary school as a girl, which I did. But I still would not be allowed to use the girls' room under any condition.

The more words I learned, the more I started to verbalize my feelings. Whenever my mom or dad would compliment me by saying something like 'Good boy,' I'd immediately correct them. 'No. Good girl.'

Bras should be comfortable. I hate when you have all those bras with all that wiring that poke into your ribs, and you take it off at the end of the day, and it feels good. It shouldn't feel good to take off your bra at the end of the day. It should be something that feels good throughout the day.

I always say I want to leave this world in a better state than when I arrived, and I continue to live by that message. So I'm going to do what I can to make the world a better place but also just make sure that I'm happy as well.

I think I've been able to find happiness, and I've learned to love myself. That's a huge accomplishment for anyone, learning to love yourself.

I'm open, and I'm out there, but I also enjoy being alone, relaxing.

If people are going to judge me without fully understanding the content of my character, then their opinion just isn't worth it.

On every single picture on my Instagram page, you'll find a negative comment. My supporters will normally stand up to that hateful person, and then it will become a big argument, and it's just a lot. I try to tell myself not to listen to the haters, and I try not to read the comments because it's not worth it.

I definitely think when I'm feeling super down or having tantrums or not able to participate in any activities, I have to control myself. I have to tell myself, 'No, focus, focus, focus, do this, do this, do this.' Instead of shutting down, I encourage myself to think positively and move towards the light.

For transgender kids who are struggling, I want them to know they're not alone. They shouldn't be afraid to step out of their shadows.

I think that's important - that transgender individuals are just like everyone else. We have our interests, our hobbies, our things we like to do. And people have to understand that.

As a transgender child, I was always looking around for someone like me, because I thought I was the only one. It's hard to feel like that. But having support from my family changed everything. They helped me love myself and embrace who I am.

Being transgender is more than just medical books and everything, procedures. It's something spiritual in which you're finding yourself and really discovering who you are and learning to love yourself.

I think that a lot of people don't understand how much discrimination transgender people actually face. They think that we're just kind of saying it to put it out there and get sympathy, but that's not true at all.

I hope to stop discrimination against young transgender people.

I definitely feel that society sets expectations for transgender people to fit in and makes us feel as if we have to dress a certain way so that we blend in with everyone else. But I believe all transgender individuals should be able to wear whatever they want and not worry about fitting in.

Seeing states like North Carolina enacting these bathroom bills that are banning transgender individuals from using the restrooms they identify as... it's complete discrimination.

We just want to help people understand that it's okay to be transgender, and they're just like everyone else.

If someone's OK with being the 'transgender girl,' that's fine, but that's not me.