text: Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has given in an in-depth interview from behind bars in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, describing the 'painful and awkward' process and conditions of transitioning to a woman from inside a military prison. Born Bradley Manning, the 27-year-old former intelligence analyst was convicted of espionage in July 2013 for sending a trove of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website and was subsequently sentenced to 35 years prison. One month after being found guilty, Manning announced that he had always identified as female and planned to start living as a woman named Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, officially switching names in April 2014. In February this year, after suing the Defense Department, Manning was approved for hormone treatment, allowing the former Army private to make the transition into a woman while serving out her sentence. Speaking: Chelsea Manning, 27, the soldier convicted of leaking a trove of secret documents and sentenced to 35 year prison, has given her first in-depth interview since announcing plans to transition into a woman . Manning, a former army private who enlisted as Bradley, has had her name officially changed to Chelsea and recently received approval to undergo hormone therapy for gender reassignment while in prison . She was also permitted to have some amenities, including makeup and underwear, but is not allowed to grow her hair long, which she sees as a major affliction. Just this month, Manning started Tweeting and interacting with supporters online from prison. There is no internet access, making it a complicated process that involves her dictating messages over the telephone. Now, Manning has done an interview for the May edition ofCosmopolitan, which was conducted through written letters back and forth. Manning said not being able to grow her hair is 'painful and awkward', because she is forced to reject one of the biggest physical transformations her body will go through now she is taking hormones. 'I am torn up,' she told the magazine. Revelations: In the new interview, Manning speaks of a tumultuous childhood, why she enlisted in the military, and realizing she was a woman trapped in a man's body . 'I get through each day OK, but at night, when I'm alone in my room, I finally burn out and crash.' Manning grew up with a dysfunction home life in Oklahoma, and that combined with bullying at school made him retreat into denial. He found solace by sneaking into his older sister's room and trying on her clothes makeup. She had a mirror that allowed you to see yourself under different lighting, which Manning found fascinating. Manning was constantly being called 'girly boy' and 'faggy' at school, however his father would tell him to 'man up' in the face of such comments. This caused Manning to get into a lot of fights at school, she says. After her mother attempted suicide and her marriage to Manning's father brokedown, she moved with her mother to Wales. Of attending high school in overseas, Manning recalled: 'I don't think I ever said "I'm gay" or "I'm trans." It was more like, "Is it normal for guys to crossdress a lot?"' Projection: Manning recently started a Twitter account operated using the telephone from prison, and this is her profile photo, which is believed to be an impression of what she will look like as a woman . Former life: Manning,had already secured permission last year to be known under the name 'Chelsea' instead of 'Bradley' Manning returning to Oklahoma after graduating and moved back in with her father, starting an internship as a software programmer and designer. However a falling out with her father lead to a period of homelessness. She lived out of her car in Chicago for a while until moving in with an aunt in Washington D.C. There she attended Montgomery College and worked two sales jobs to pay for her tuition. She was growing more and more to understand her transgender self, and wanted to seek therapy, but could not afford it. On top of studying and working so much, she was falling apart with stress. 'It was all exhausting me to the point I was turning to soda, cigarettes, and the Internet for an escape,' she told Cosmopolitan. Suddenly, enlisting in the military seemed like a good alternative, and her father supported the move. Despite a troubling experience in training, where Manning received school-like bullying and torment, she went  to become an Army intelligence analyst in New York and prepared to deploy to Iraq. There she started a relationship with a student at Brandeis University. 'I fell in love with him,' Manning told the magazine. 'He was not my first relationship, but he was certainly the most serious one. It was the first time Manning spoke to someone about wanting to become a woman. While the relationship fell apart once Manning got to Iraq, his understanding of self only intensified. The experience 'made me absolutely certain of who I am,' Manning said. 'Dealing with reams and reams of emails, memos, and reports of people dying around me every day — to the point it becomes just a statistic to many people — made me realize just how short and precious our lives really are. 'I could've been killed at any moment too. We all can, really. 'So what better day to start being ourselves than today, right? Yeah, it sounds tacky, but it's absolutely true. 'When I went on leave in January 2010, I was comfortable dressing as a woman in public. 'I wouldn't have been able to do that before I deployed to a combat zone.' Prison: Manning is serving out a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth for violating the Espionage Act . Manning refused to be drawn on leaking documents, which occurred a little after this time. The former army intelligence analyst was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offenses after admitting to handing over more than 700,000 classified documents, including military intelligence reports and State Department cables, to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. US officials describe Manning's document dump as the biggest leak of classified files in American history. She could be eligible for parole in about seven years, however may have to answer to an army parole for the duration of her 35 year sentence.
target: Chelsea Manning gave an interview to Cosmopolitan from Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas, serving 35 years for violating the Espionage Act .
  After being convicted in July 2013 as Bradley Manning, she admitted having gender dysphoria and announced plans to transition into a woman .
  She officially changed her name last year and sued for permission to undergo hormone therapy for gender reassignment from within prison .
  Says it's 'painful and awkward' to be forbidden from letting her hair grow .
  Reveals how being deployed to Iraq made her realize life is volatile .