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Jazz describes when she first knew that she wasn't a boy.

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Jazz Jennings: When I First Knew I Was Transgender

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"Ever since I could form coherent thoughts, I knew I was a girl trapped inside a boy's body. There was never any confusion in my mind."

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Depression has been something Jazz has had to deal with at this age. Although she knows how much she is loved and the changes she is bringing to her community, sometimes it can be hard to stay positive. Jazz continuously fights herself out of these horrible thoughts, so she can keep supporting transgender rights and give her family and friends unconditional love.

Quote 10: "There's a truth I know in my heart, though, that always pulls me out of that place-the meaning of life is the meaning you give it." (214)

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Over the summer before high school started, Jazz and her family toured countries to promote I Am Jazz. They were also able to have a nice family trip to Los Angeles because they didn't have to do the show the whole time. When it came to an end, Jazz was worried how it would effect her life outside of the spotlight. Luckily, after a couple of days everything was back to normal.

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In 2015, Jazz and her family were invited to the White House for their Pride Month celebration, unaware that they were about to meet the president. After a lot of driving and last minute videos, it was finally time, and although there were twenty others, Jazz got to go first! It was emphasized that there would be no talking during this meeting, but Obama did mention how proud he was of her as she left!

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Jazz has gotten many awards for her work in promoting equality for transgender people. She's also done many interviews, speeches, and Youtube videos. Once, Jazz and her family and friends were asked to do a two-month reality show with TLC.

Quote 9: "Getting to film with my friends brought us even closer, despite any minor drama that ended up in the final cut." (196)

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Jazz went back to Camp Aranu'tiq a few years later. There, she reunited with some friends she'd made the first time she went. Since she was desperate to start dating, she met a guy named Jonah who liked her back. However, this relationship didn't make it very far after Jazz found out he was just using her to get himself attention.

Quote 8: "And if it ever turned out that someone did have a problem with me, I wouldn't want anything to do with that person anyway." (184)

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Over the summers, Jazz and her family attend a conference to educate people about transgender kids growing up. Approximately 4,000 people attend this conference and at the end of the year there is a party.

Quote 7: "The Trans-Health Conference is a safe space where we can have some very honest conversations that we might not feel comfortable having with our friends back home." (170)

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Jazz had a very busy seventh grade year. After her thirteenth birthday, she was honored in the Out magazine which didn't have a huge impact on her day-to-day life since hardly anyone knew about it. She also started a mermaid tail business which she had to juggle with her school and soccer life. Plus, she was asked to write a children's book on being transgender and recite a speech for the GLAAD Media Awards event. Due to all the media attention, Jazz met a lot of celebrities like Bill Clinton and Laverne Cox. In addition to all of that, Jazz was still watching her weight and ignoring bullies at school as she was in the spotlight.

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This is the cite where Jazz's family learned how to raise a transgender child and spread the message about accepting yourself for who you are

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Welcome to the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation.

My family and I are committed to helping transgender youth lead happy, healthy lives. We spread our message of tolerance, acceptance and unconditional love with hopes of making this world a better place. I invite you to explore our website with an open heart and mind.

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Welcome to the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation. My family and I are committed to helping transgender youth lead happy, healthy lives. We spread our message of tolerance, acceptance and unconditional love with hopes of making this world a better place. I invite you to explore our website with an open heart and mind.

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Jazz has always loved mermaids. One summer, after joining a group chat with others that loved mermaids as much as she did, she was inspired to make her own mermaid tail. It was a long process, but a lot of fun! This activity helped Jazz come out of a depression she'd been experiencing lately.

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Barbara Walters did another special on transgender kids for her show where she caught up with Jazz since she'd last seen her a few years ago.

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When Jaron started middle school, she decided to change her name to "Jazz" after having used it a lot in public. Jazz quickly made friends in middle school before realizing she was pretty popular for being transgender. Although not everyone understood, Jazz adored the friends she did have.

Quote 6: "Sophie and some other girlfriends stuck by my side" (138)

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On June 25th, 2012, 11 year old Jazz was awarded the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award at the TREVOR PROJECT GALA in New York City. She gave a heartfelt acceptance speech to a room full of 1,000 adults including celebrities like, Susan Sarandon, Debra Messing, Eric McCormick, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Rapp plus many others.

Jazz is the youngest recipient of the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award. She was poised and self confident and is an inspiration for other transkids.
The Colin Higgins Courage Awards were created to honor ordinary yet remarkable individuals whose courage helped to educate and enlighten others about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer experience.

While in New York, Jazz and her family marched in the NYC Pride Parade, and had an incredible interview with Barbara Walters.

A new 20/20 special about Jazz and her family will air in October of 2012.

To read more about the Colin Higgins Award visit ColinHiggins.org. For more information about the Trevor Project visit TheTrevorProject.org.

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Jazz Receives Prestigious Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award

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On June 25th, 2012, 11 year old Jazz was awarded the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award at the TREVOR PROJECT GALA in New York City. She gave a heartfelt acceptance speech to a room full of 1,000 adults including celebrities like, Susan Sarandon, Debra Messing, Eric McCormick, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Rapp plus many others.

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20/20 News

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At Camp Aranu'tiq, although Jaron got hurt many times, she helped other transgender kids at the camp (all the kids there were transgender) feel better about themselves. In doing so, she made two best friends for the week and got an opportunity to be independent.

Quote 5: "Everyone had been able to express themselves with zero judgements. It had positively affected so many of the kids-the ones who were shy for the first day or two were running around laughing hysterically with a whole posse of new friends by the end of the week." (130)

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As an 11-year-old, the Colin Higgins Foundation awarded Jaron with the Youth Courage Award.

Quote 4: "I felt like all I was doing was living my normal life! I knew speaking on panels and doing interviews was helping people, but I never expected to get rewarded for it. I just liked the idea of spreading a positive message." (118)

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Since Jaron was transgender, the principal at school believed that she shouldn't be allowed to use the girls bathroom. After a lot of fighting and a new principal, Jaron was finally granted the right to use the girls bathroom.

Quote 3: "I got in trouble for using the girls' bathroom, and I should have the right to use that bathroom. I'm not different from anybody else, and I can lock the door and make sure they don't walk in!" (113)

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When Jaron was only a fifth grader, she had a boyfriend named Zack. Although he was a year younger then her, she agreed to be his girlfriend. However, their relationship didn't last too long which Jaron didn't mind too much.

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Jennings, Jazz. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. Ember, 2017.

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Even as a toddler, Jaron had an interest for girly things like wearing dresses and playing with dolls. Her parents didn't mind this behavior around the house because they thought it was a phase. However, whenever they went out in public her parents would fight her to wear boys' clothes. At such a young age, Jaron felt ashamed to be wearing such attire.

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One night, Jaron had a dream about a fairy who told her that she would be able to transform her into a girl. This dream felt so real that Jaron felt her dream would come true.

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When the family finally found a therapist for their special case, Jaron was introduced to the term "transgender."

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"I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of relief that there was finally a word that described me-a girl who had accidentally been born into a boy's body." (11)

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One day, after a lot of pleading, Jaron and her family were interviewed about being and raising a transgender kid.

Quote 2: "The show wasn't anything huge in my mind, but it turned out that it was affecting other children's lives. We managed to achieve the original goals of both educating people and sending out a message of comfort and normalcy." (46)

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Jaron tolerated many gossips and rude comments about her throughout school. After many difficult experiences, she realized it's just as important to address the small issues as it is to address large ones. In third grade, she met a girl named Casey who became her best friend forever.

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Jaron hit puberty at a young age, but because she'd been born in a boy's body, it wasn't what she wanted. So, Jaron and her family seeked medical help to get puberty blockers which would suppress her male puberty for the time being. Although her number one choice was an implant in her arm that would be changed every couple of years, she had to get a few shots before they arrived.