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Illustration by Jessica Garza

This is a part of a collection that details my real life experiences of child abuse in a dysfunctional family. From early childhood, I raised and brought myself up on my own on the wild city streets and in institutions, jails and violent all male adult prisons.

As a transgender girl with a timid, kind, loving and effiminate nature, I tried to make the best of a bad hand dealt to me since birth. I mostly bluffed my way through and somehow managed to reach a ripe old age the woman I am. 

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Jessica Garza is a writer and artist incarcerated in California.