'I am transgender, and I want my voice to be heard'

[icymist]

(CNN) -- Rebecca Avery always felt different, even as a child. It wasn't until the age of 13 that she would even hear the word that explained why she felt out of place -- she was transgender.

It would take another 14 years and a new job before she started her transition from male to female.

Avery, 30, works as a graphic designer in Waukegan, Illinois. And even though she has worked in the publishing and design field for 10 years, only the past four have been under her current name and identity.

Her transition has made finding work difficult. "For a while, I was trying to cut off all my past work from before my transition," Avery said. "Questions kept coming up, and there was just no escape from the past."

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/14/transgender.irpt/