Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of your personality, Shanghai personality becomes part of yours.

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I didn't realize that there is something called originality and your own voice.

You have to be your own person. You can't let people's opinions determine how you think about yourself. There's a difference between identity and self-identity.

When you already believe something, how can you suddenly stop? When you are a loyal friend, how can you no longer be one?

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case, it's different. My mother has been unhappy all her life. For the first time in her life, she's happy.

I hated the tests the raised hopes and failed expectations.

I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.