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The first several years of my life were used to upload incredible amounts of fear, and I just became afraid of everything. I was afraid of my parents, afraid of my classmates, afraid of the streets of Washington, D.C. I would flinch at every gesture.

You don't have to be a scared person. I've had so many tragedies. I've managed to withstand things that you may think you cannot tolerate. But I have the strength.

From nine years old, I lived with fear. I saw our neighbours disappearing. I was scared that I would come home from school and my parents would not be there.

I have had fear in the past, yes. I've learned to fight it. But I still have my moments. I just have to remind myself that fear is all within your mind, and that you're only holding yourself back when you give in to it. Even fear of success can be scary.

I've never scared anybody in my life.

They were afraid, never having learned what I taught myself: Defeat the fear of death and welcome the death of fear.

It's okay to have fear - we're all human; it happens - but in facing your fears, you can really open yourself up to things you never thought possible.

At the same time, I've never been afraid of death or the concept of death.

Fear has been my biggest friend. Fear of the unknown. Whenever I've been afraid, I've been very self-protective.