I've come to realize how much it really was a part of my upbringing, the Georgia part. We were away from town. It was just dirt and trees and spouses. And a lot of kids - my cousins, who were all like brothers and sisters to me - just a lot of kids at one time.
Well, I think it's because I'm an only daughter. I have four brothers, a bunch of guy cousins, and so it's like I was raised amongst men. So I've always gotten along really well with men.
I'm a big fan of gallows humor. When my aunt passed away, she was in a coma for a day before my cousins pulled the plug. And the amount of joking and base humor that went on that day around her bed was so insane. It's crazy how people talk when something horrible is happening.
Confidence and empowerment are cousins in my opinion. Empowerment comes from within and typically it's stemmed and fostered by self-assurance. To feel empowered is to feel free and that's when people do their best work. You can't fake confidence or empowerment.
Improvisation is almost like the retarded cousin in the comedy world. We've been trying forever to get improvisation on TV. It's just like stand-up. It's best when it's just left alone. It doesn't translate always on TV. It's best live.
I have two cousins with juvenile diabetes. They both contracted the disease before the age of 5, and it was so heartbreaking watching them go through daily blood tests and injections. It is such a difficult disease to live with and requires constant attention; a tough thing to explain to a child.
In our family, and not just us but even with my cousins, uncles and aunts, we celebrate every festival - be it Christmas, Easter, Eid, Diwali or our birthdays.
The family that brunches together stays together. My cousins and I swear by this rule, and Sunday brunch with them is like a detox session.
I have a cousin who, at age 36, passed away from cancer, and she left three girls.
I have two aunts and three cousins in Korea as well.
