Geena Rocero

I was in front of this stage, and I remember out comes this beautiful woman right in front of me, and I remember that moment, something hit me.

That is the kind of woman I would like to be.

So when I was 15 years old,

Still dressing as a boy, I met this woman named TL.

She is a transgender beauty pageant manager.

That night, she asked me, how come you are not joining the beauty pageant?

She convinced me that if I joined, that she will take care of the registration fee and the garments.

And that night, I won best in swimsuit and best in long gown and placed second runner-up amongst 40-plus candidates.

That moment changed my life.

All of a sudden, I was introduced to the world of beauty pageant.

Not a lot of people could say that your first job is a pageant queen for transgender women, but I'll take it.

So from 15 to 17 years old, I joined the most prestigious pageant to the pageant where it's at the back of the truck, literally, or sometimes it would be a pavement next to a rice field, and when it rains, which it rains a lot in the Philippines, the organizers would have to move it inside someone's house.

I also experienced the goodness of strangers, especially when we would travel in remote provinces in the Philippines.

But most importantly, I met some of my best friends in that community.

In 2001, my mom, who had moved to San Francisco, called me and told me that my green card petition came through, that I could now move to the United States.

I resisted it.

I told my mom, Mom, I'm having fun.

I'm here with my friends.

I love traveling, being a beauty pageant queen.

But then two weeks later, she called me.