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I was so determined not to pass on to my children what I perceived to be the faults of my upbringing.

I had lost a clear sense of the vision and values instilled in me as a child and was no longer driven by any mission or passion. I made the difficult decision to pull back from the noise of my life and reinvent the way I was living and leading.

Growing up, I just wanted to be like everyone else. I didn't value or understand the beauty in being different at the time in my life.

From a certain age, I sort of accepted myself for what I was. And although to other people it was like nothing ever goes right, I had a really nice attitude that I'd inherited from my parents, and especially from my dad.

My parents taught me the way to deal with being picked on was to be compassionate. I had to defend myself physically, but I had to be compassionate and understand the position of those abusing me. I had to figure it out and then rise above it.

I wanted to grow up to be just like my father.

I see my upbringing as a great success story. By disciplining me, my parents inculcated self-discipline. And by restricting my choices as a child, they gave me so many choices in my life as an adult. Because of what they did then, I get to do the work I love now.

I was fortunate enough to have an upbringing that made me more accepting of who I am.

I was an escapee of childhood. I always wanted to grow up.