Jenna Tea comes out as transgender to her great-grandmother in a viral video

A Utah resident's “coming out as transgender” video — featuring a heartwarming voiceover from her great-grandmother — has over 1 million views.

Jenna Tea, a transgender woman from Salt Lake City, shared her great-grandmother Katherine's reaction to her revelation in an August 10 Instagram video that has since received an outpouring of positive support.

“She’s always been so supportive of me since I was a kid,” Jenna Tea, 21, told PEOPLE on Friday, October 4. “She always knew that I was different from other children and always saw the difference as a good thing.” . She also always tells me how pretty I am, and that’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard.”

In the viral video, her great-grandmother begins, “Well, it's your life, darling.”

“You have to do what makes you happy,” Katherine continues in the recorded conversation between her and her great-granddaughter, who told PEOPLE that she first came out as a transgender woman on social media on January 19, before she “started taking hormones”. “in April.

“It's something we have to get used to, and sometimes it's hard for other people, but they don't live your life, you do,” Katherine adds in the voiceover of the Instagram video. “It's their problem, so to speak, to readjust, and so the best thing to do is to bring it out into the open, deal with it, and then it will be what it is.”

“And I always thought so. I always noticed that you had a softer side when you wanted dolls and not trucks and stuff. There were signs, but we never told you anything because until You “You know, it’s not fair to tell you anything either,” she says. “Because I don’t want you to be unhappy and struggle with it and let it destroy you because people don’t accept it. They’re just idiots.”

Concluding her touching message, Katherine says: “I love you. For me it doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman. Whoever’s in there, I love it.”

Her great-granddaughter then replies, “That means the world.”

Jenna Tea, who works as a makeup artist and drag performer, told PEOPLE that her great-grandmother attends her drag performances.

“Every show she was on, she enjoyed it so much,” she said. “It's so special to see her tipping the drag queens and having a good time – it makes my soul so happy. She knows that I want drag to be my full-time career in the future and she always believes in me.”

Jenna Tea is inspired not only by trans people who have fought for trans rights like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Miss Major – but also by trans entertainers.

“As someone who also documents my transition online, I really look up to Dylan Mulvaney,” she said of the content creator and actress. “I look up to so many of the beautiful trans actresses pose – It’s really special to see trans women shine in such a big series.”

Never miss a story again — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The trans drag performer also cited drag legend RuPaul as a role model.

“Even though RuPaul isn't trans, she was probably my biggest role model,” she explained. “Without her and Rupaul's Drag Race, I don’t know if I would have ever found my identity.”

“I look up to so many of the queens on the show, especially the trans artists, because they showed me that I could do it too,” said Jenna Tea, naming Gottmik, Peppermint, Sasha Colby, Kerri Colby and Adore Delano than some who can inspire them.

Her great-grandmother believes that Jenna Tea can be as famous as she is.

“One thing she said to me recently was, 'You're a star!' “I love watching you perform and seeing you in your element,” she said. “That comment really caught my attention.”