On Friday, April 24 I planned my night around a special edition of ABC News’ “20/20.” This was an exclusive two-hour interview with Diane Sawyer as she sat down with Olympic gold medalist and socialite Bruce Jenner. However, the Jenner who has been seen scrutinized in the headlines has come out and shared an overwhelming secret he has held captive his whole life: his desire to be a women. For the time being though, he said he still desires the pronoun “he” to be used to describe him.

Before I watched the interview, I was among the many people to make assumptions on how Jenner would portray himself. I was not expecting to be as impressed as I was. Recently, the media has put him in the spotlight as a socialite whose life has taken a dramatic fall since his decathlon years. He went from holding the title of the best athlete in the world, to staring on a reality TV show as a father figure to the socialite Kardashians.

As Bruce Jenner said in his interview, “We’d done 425 episodes over almost eight years now and the entire run I kept thinking to myself, “oh my God, this whole thing, the one real true story in the family, was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about. The one thing that could really make a difference in people lives was right here in my soul, and I couldn’t tell that story.”

I was both awestruck by him and his courage and sad for his struggles and the pain he and others similarly situated endure. I believe his story is a positive step up for the transgender community. Many now expect Jenner, to serve as a figure and promoter for those who fear social backlash for their gender preference. With his fame and bravery, hopefully he can help bring some light to those who are hidden behind a fake identity. In today’s society every type of person should be accepted for who they want to be, not for the label society gives them.

There are many misconceptions about the term “transgender.” It is much different than cross-dressing. Cross dressers enjoy dressing in the opposite sex’s clothing but they do not desire to be a different gender. Gender identity and sexual attraction are also not the same. Sawyer quoted a transgender writer who put the difference into perspective: “sexual desire is whom you go to bed with. Gender identity is who you go to bed as.”

Jenner revealed that his gender conflict was still prominent during his marriage of his three previous wives. He has fathered 6 children, 2 with each wife, and has four step children (The Kardashians). Many of his children have posted and commented on their support for their dad.

I wait for the day, when Jenner can come out in the public in a beautiful dress posing for the paparazzi as the women he has always wanted to be. “It’s not that I’m trying to dress up as a woman,” one of Jenner’s daughters said he told her when he told her he is transgender. “It’s that I’ve spent my whole life dressing like a man.”

Watch the interview here