My name is Katiso Kgope, and I was born on September 18, in 1995.
I was born in Glen Wood hospital, Benoni my parents are Mandla Kgope and the late Mpho Kgope – Monyake.

I was given the name of Katiso by my mother, which originates from the Setswana term Goatisa which means Addition, basically an addition to our big family.

I speak English, iSiZulu and Setswana fluently.

From a very young age, mentally my mind was feminine. I did not know why at the time as I was still very young and did not have a clear understanding of the mental state I was in.

But for some reason I had always been attracted to all the things girls would be attracted to and wanted nothing to do with what boys would be attracted to.
I was told that when I was still a child, every morning when my mother got ready for work, I would always be in her bedroom playing with all her things such as her makeup, her jewellery, especially her shoes, I was in love with her shoes.

My father would take me and lock me up in the car when my mother got ready for work in a sense that they were hoping the longer I stayed away, the better chances of me losing interest in such things and little did they know that, that was just the tip of the ice berg.

I did not know what being trans meant when I was a child, I didn’t understand what I was doing but for some reason it felt normal to me.

I am a beautiful trans woman, and I strongly believe that we all come from God, and that perhaps sometimes He makes mistakes because I feel my original body parts were given to the wrong individual.

I consider myself to be a cordial person, as I have been told. I am a very friendly and a social butterfly and there is nothing I enjoy more than meeting new people, especially those who are just like me, because I find the different types of life stories of other trans women very fascinating.

I feel that just making new friends with other transwomen will be just a beautiful experience.
I also entered 2 pageants, I lost the title of Miss Gay Daveyton and the second pageant I entered I won Miss Valentine’s Second Princess along side Miss T as the third and first Princess and Cuteness as the Queen.

I wish to have a sex change when my financial situation allows me to. There is nothing that would make me happier than to be an actual woman.

To be honest I love how I look, but like anyone else, there are just a few things I would like to change; such as my smile, my narrow hips and my flat chest as well as getting a female organ. That would be the cherry on top.

I would have loved to be able to physically give birth but sadly we all know that will not happen.

My grandmother whom I lived with in a township called Daveyton, passed away on June 21.

My mother died when I was three years old and my father looked after me until I finished high school. My father has not fully accepted the fact that I am trans, and I highly doubt he ever will.

His hatred of my sexual preference has resulted in a huge rift in our relationship in such a way that, we hardly ever speak.
The only time we communicate is when school is involved; otherwise we have nothing to talk about. Basically there is no father-child relationship.

Its even worse that he has a new wife and a new baby girl, which gave my dad room to make excuses to not support me financially where school is not involved, but I love my baby sister anyway.

I attended a primary school called Lee Rand Primary School until grade 5 when I had to change to Pine Grove Primary School where I finished junior school.

I had to move to the different primary schools because the first school didn’t treat me well due to my sexuality. I then went to Springs Technical High school, and matriculated in 2013.
I did not study further than High School.

I have always dreamed of being a model, but everything I have tried to do has failed because my father was not supportive.

My first dream was to become an actor, I was hoping that I was going to attend the National School of the Arts but my dad said it was too expensive, so that failed like my modelling.

I then decided that I want to study fashion at any fashion college, and I heard the same excuse I have been hearing from him for any school I wanted, “that is too expensive, I cant afford”.
I had gotten so sick of that line so much that I decided to resort to my plan C, which was to attend a government college in Benoni called Benoni Ekurhuleni College.

When I applied it was full, so I had to settle for Springs Ekurhuleni College. I decided to study something that would please my father as he was willing to pay for something that was more on the “practical side”.

I am currently studying towards a Diploma in Marketing at Springs Ekurhuleni College. I wish to further my studies after receiving my diploma in marketing and studying what I have always wanted; fashion.

I have always had a dream of becoming a trans super model because I feel that so far the world is yet to see a transsexual woman take the title.

What I fail to understand is why trans women are never in adverts in South African magazines, as well as TV series and in movies.

Since no one had the courage to do so that is all about to change. I plan to be the first transsexual super model to make it big in the world and make a name for myself and most importantly to represent for all trans women that did not get a chance to let the world know who we are and what we stand for.

The world needs to learn that the LGBT community consists of human beings and we also have dreams and its time that all changed.

I wish to travel to New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, London, Belgium and Greece to do things such as photo shoots, fashion shows, exhibitions and any kind of event.

I want to do a photo shoot in the Arc de Triomph, Eiffel Tower and in the neo-classic Haussmannian boulevards plus. Have a shoot in the beautiful Central Park in New York, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Times Square and most importantly in Hollywood, and the Hollywood walk of fame, the Myrtos Beach, Mykonos, and Santorini.

I wish to get the chance to meet famous idols such as Bonang Matheba, Somizi Mhlongo, Khanyi Mbau, Dineo Ranaka, and other international fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs, Stella MCcartney.

I would also like to meet Rupaul of Rupaul’s Drag Race, a famous tv series of drag queens and trans women, competing to see who is the best of the best.