I think high school was such a big identity journey and crisis that I never thought really about the future. It was more about me just trying to manage everything that was going on at once between my gender identity and being bullied and just stuff with high school and issues at home. I hate to sound sad, but I think my dream and aspiration was getting out.

I lived in my car for most of the end of high school and some college, where I was crashing on couches, just trying to figure out who I was and trying to get my own life together. I left my house by the time I was 18 and I was still in high school.

I eventually got my own apartment in Springfield and then tried to start going into college. It was just a big, long, messy journey, where I just never had a regular home.

I think I've always been in an identity crisis. When you're raised in a house that says, "Dude, this is the way," that's a lot of years of therapy. I'm comfortable now. I don't think I was happy or anything until I was almost 30. I just turned 32.

I started doing drag about 10 years ago. I would go to a couple of drag shows and I was just very shy and didn't ever do anything to express myself. I said if the world didn't end by 12/21, I would try doing a drag show. That January I did an open stage competition and I just had fun and I just kept going and now I'm here.

I perform full-time. My body hurts. I don't want to put on high heels. Do you? [laughs] Mentally and emotionally it's comfortable. Physically it is not. You're wearing a heavy chest, heavy body, eight-inch shoes, and a corset that sucks me in 12 inches. Got to keep up with all the younger people, and I'm like, "My knees are going.”

Drag is literally a sport. It is very athletic. I've torn my meniscus. I've popped a lot of things out of place. I cut my entire face open once, I cut my finger in half yesterday. You know what, that's what you get a cortisone shot for. But I have fun.

When you're feeling down, it's like a savior thing. It's like a mini therapy session. It's like a religious experience to me. It's just something out of this world and very mentally and emotionally reassuring, especially if the show is good. If it's a bad show or the crowd sucks, then it's not fun. [laughs] No, it's usually a good time.

It is meaningful. It's nice to get to live life as an artist. It's just exhausting. I'm just trying to live life in the moment. I really don't give a shit what happens. I'm just trying to have a good time and make sure my rent's paid.

It's really hard to try to like get people to be positive and there's just so much like drama and hate in the world and all this other crap. Then you got to deal with these people that are literally, like, "Drag is ruining our kids." I'm like, "I'm more afraid of your kids than they are of me." I'm just a big-titted clown. I'm just trying to be a better person and do nice things for people. I don't really have, like, a dream otherwise.

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