Mariah (Leon) Brown finally acknowledged her gender identity. Mariah, now known as the Leob, the lone child of Kody Brown, shared her favorite self with the world in a heartwarming Instagram post. Someone recently informed her that she didn’t need to have everything worked out in order to express herself with the world, she wrote.

Leon remarked, “I remember the first time that I knew I wasn’t a girl, after graciously announcing my identity to the world. I was still really young and regrettably I grew up in a very gendered & constrained atmosphere, so I continued to be socialized as a girl & eventually a woman.

Leon published the Instagram picture of them outside a big door frame wearing t-shirts and shorts. The caption gave readers a complete picture of Leon’s arduous trek. They feel liberated now that they have come out as transgender. Leon described how challenging it was to grow up as a female when she already knew she wasn’t one in an Instagram post.

someone recently told me that i didn’t have to have all of my shit figured out in order for me to share myself with the world. so here’s me, definitely not having almost any of my shit figured out, to let you know that i am trans. my name is Leon or Leo (i love both) and my pronouns are they/them.