Chelsea Manning, the US soldier imprisoned for revealing state secrets, has written a candid blog post exploring her sense of identity since her 2013 conviction.

The Wikileaks whistleblower reflected on how she tends to be seen by the world, characterised and defined by “a single event...several years ago”. Manning points to her dedication to “transparency, social equality, individual protections, free speech, human rights, and justice”, a quality that she believes is sidelined by her convictions for Theft of Government information, violations of the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

“For many years now, I have just accepted this as fact. For years, I have accepted it as reality. But, now my priorities have shifted. I am faced with a more dire reality: That I am tired of being defined by the world, instead of being allowed to define myself,” Manning wrote.

She also referred to recent events in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people were killed by a shooter in LGBT venue Pulse. Manning explained that the tragedy motivated her to question her own sense of self, and what was most important for her in her own life.

“In general, I am not fond of sweeping broad-stroked oversimplifications. In this spirit, when hearing me labelled as a ‘hero’ and a ‘whistleblower,’ I take a deep sigh. The bottom line is that I am only human. When I cut my finger turning the page of a book, I bleed like everybody else.

“These last few years, I have been evolving and becoming more real, more intimate, and more human. More like the “real me.” More of the woman that I am,” she added.

“I am a growing, changing, shifting and expanding creature, but much about me is quite normal and boring.”

After reflecting on her life before prison, a love of Seinfeld, jobs as a barista and sales assistant, Manning related that the world has been very different for her since a pre-Wikileaks life back in 2010.

“In the meantime, I admit that I want to be seen and understood as the woman that I actually am - with all of my flaws and eccentricities - perhaps at the expense of what people expect me to be. I hope I don’t let anyone down, but it just feels better, and more honest, to reveal my boring old self. I just hope you all will still like me, now that you’ve met the real me,” she concluded.

Manning, who revealed her transition to female three years ago, was arrested after leaking classified government documents with alleged information on war crimes to Wikileaks. After campaigns to have her sentence shortened, an official appeal was set into motion in May 2015.  

Her personal writing comes after recent reports that she attempted to take her own life at Fort Leavenworth military prison. She was taken to hospital on July 5 and made a recovery.

She tweeted about the incident a few days later, telling followers that she was “okay” and “glad to be alive”. “Thank you for all the love. I will get through this,” she wrote.