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My mom raised me to never have anything control me.

I went to Brown University, but my mom said I couldn't be an artist because I would starve.

One girl used to call me Brownie and tell me to go back to my own country. At lunch, I'd get a bag of chips from the vending machine and eat it in the storage room so I wouldn't have to see her.

I sang a song at my sister's wedding. My mother forced me into that, too. But that one felt all right.

My mom dressed me in silk to go to elementary school. In kindergarten, they sent me home because I couldn't do finger painting in my dress.

I complained to my mother about wanting to look less like myself and more like my friends. My mother then gave me a lesson in embracing my differences and loving them despite what others said.

My mother inspired me to treat others as I would want to be treated regardless of age, race or financial status.

My mom always told me that I could be anything I wanted to be. And I truly, actually believed it. And I fought.