When Avery Wallace was born, doctors told his parents: 'It's a girl'. But from a very young age, the youngster from Los Angeles knew it simply wasn't the case. The transgender 15-year-old knew he was a boy from the age of two, setting his physical 'parts' aside. Writing for CNN, he has described how he knew he was male long before he discovered the terms 'gay' and 'sexuality', and the difficulty he encountered with other people's perceptions growing up. He also urges parents to let children set out their path - no matter their gender. Avery Wallace (right) poses for a picture with his sister Riley in 2002 at the age of three. He claims he knew he was a boy when he was two . His parents let him cut his hair short for his preschool graduation, even though he was wearing a dress . Describing life as a toddler, he said: 'I was a little boy expressing myself based on what was in my heart and mind - not yet distorted by biology, other people's confusion, or fear. 'No matter how many times I was told differently, I was a boy and the people that mattered knew it too, for the most part.' He said he first heard the term 'gay' in second grade, even after he had his first 'girlfriend', and remembered how one year 'a penis' was at the top of his Christmas list. However he feared people may perceive him as 'different' when he learned homosexuality was considered by some to be abnormal. 'I knew I liked girls and I was technically a girl, biologically, but I was a boy and my feelings about girls were normal boy feelings. I was not gay - but try to explain that to someone without his or her eyes glazing over.' At the age of seven he started to prefer wearing boys clothes and by eight, he was playing baseball . Avery was elected class president in the fifth grade by his peers. He strongly stated that he was a boy and the 'people that mattered knew it too, for the most part' He is pictured at age 10 with short, curly hair. By now he was living the life of a boy, but the word transgender hadn't formed part of his vocabulary . Avery described how he was able to become the boy he wanted, because he grew up in a house that taught him to 'love anyone I wanted to.' 'That said,' he added. 'I knew being gay wasn't a bad thing, but I also knew it didn't describe me. I was a straight boy who liked girls and there is nothing wrong with that, either.' When he entered middle school, he grew out his hair and started to wear dresses as to avoid the 'emotional torture'. But in 2012, when he was 12, he told his parents he was transgender. He is now undergoing hormone therapy treatment after attending a number of group sessions, and has urged people to consider categorizing people into boys and girls more carefully. 'I cannot stress to the world enough, gender and sexuality are two completely different things, and the moment people incorrectly connect them is the moment when most people start looking for an exit or a fight,' Avery said. He added: 'Whether I'm a boy or a girl, white or black, rich or poor, gay or straight, it's completely irrelevant. What truly matters is the fact that I'm Avery Wallace and I've always known exactly who I was.' Avery wore a suit and lavender waistcoat for his fifth grade graduation, but from then on he grew out his hair and some times wore a dress to avoid the 'emotional torture' of middle school . In 2012 he told his parents he was transgender and is now undergoing hormone therapy treatment .
When Avery Wallace was born, doctors told his parents: 'It's a girl'
However the teenager said from a young age he knew this wasn't the case . The 15-year-old knew he was male before he learned the term 'sexuality'
As a little boy he expressed himself based on his 'heart and mind'
He cut his hair short at pre-school and wore boy's clothes at age 7 . Avery told his parents he was transgender in 2012 and is now undergoing hormone treatment .