I agreed to take part in a New York University Institute for Humanities conference a year ago. . . .

Art is not living. It is the use of living.

It is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment.

Without community, there is no liberation.

I am still learning - how to take joy in all the people I am, how to use all my selves in the service of what I believe, how to accept when I fail and rejoice when I succeed.

I believe one of the hardest things you can do is conquer your fears, but if you have a goal, then it's your job to open up and let it be real no matter how scary it seems.

...my experience with people who tried to label me was that they usually did it to either dismiss me or use me.