Personally, I've learned about perseverance: when you hear the word 'No,' and when you hear rejection, that it's not always final. And that timing is everything, and you have to stay the course and just keep working hard and know that, when your time comes, that it will be sweet and that it will be the perfect time.
I hope we can see African American characters as the diva, as the villain, and also as the praying mother. We are all of those things. We tended to only be the best friend or the neighbor in everybody's sitcom.
I believe in artists. I'm an advocate for artists.
If you grow up saying, 'I want to be a lawyer,' everyone says, 'Let's give her everything she needs to be a lawyer.' But if you say 'I want to be an artist or a dancer or a painter,' it's, 'Oh, she'll grow out of it.'
I started wearing wigs when I was younger and had a thyroid disease that made my hair fall out. It was devastating. I thought, 'I could either have an issue with this, or I could go to the store and buy a wig.' And then I fell in love with wearing them, and I stuck with it even after my hair came back.
The artist in me welcomes another opportunity to be creative.