Writing in my journal keeps me focused on my spirit and what I need or feel.

Maturity and experience are part of my liberation.

If I know everything around the situation, all the facts, I feel like I can handle just about anything.

There are certain things we come into this world having to defeat. And for me, and I would not be surprised if a lot of women feel this same way, it's this thing of not being 100 percent comfortable with myself.

When I'm on stage, my interaction with the audience is something that really makes me come alive. It's a feeling like no other. The energy of the crowd fuels something new inside. It reminds me to live in the moment.

Many things inspire me. First and foremost, my family, my husband, and our son. I find that the love we share fills me up and makes me see and appreciate life in a different way.

The climate of today is not really focused as much as it was then on being able to speak about different cultural issues or different situations that were going on politically.