One of my favorite memories from growing up in Brazil is being in the kitchen with my family and watching everyone bake and cook.

Growing up eating fruits and vegetables fresh from our farm added a lot to the way I taste and look at food today, and I wanted the same for my kids and other kids.

My waist used to be tiny. I just saw a picture of Miley Cyrus with a little crop top and low pants, and I'm like, 'That was me growing up in Brazil!' I had the typical model body, but after babies, it changed. I look more like a woman.

I'm still learning how to do things - like lining my eyes? Forget it.

I come from a family that has grown their own food from well into times of slavery, provided for themselves and people around them. So I found, through conversations about the earth and about the house with my neighbors, a lot of common ground.

I was raised by both parents up to 17. We had a good family. We had a middle class family, good teaching and good surroundings, raised by the church, where I went every week whether I wanted to or not.

I wish I could come home to a life that looks like a TV show. I wish I could see my television family waiting for me, where no one fights and no one screams, no one lies and no one leaves.

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.