If I feel frustrated in a situation, I take a deep breath and walk away.

When 9/11 happened, 12 of our neighborhood firemen were killed. I looked around at the country that had adopted me and I became an American.

I come from Somalia. We start working young, and we understand that kind of life. I would be bored to death not doing anything creative.

Pulling off a zebra-print dress can be challenging for some.

There's a lot that I haven't put up there since my husband passed away because then it would be grief everyday. I have to fight within myself at times and ask, 'how do I go through the grief and find a light, even a glimmer of it?'

That to be an activist, you have to stay active. For me, it's profound; it's not something you choose to do every five years because it's chic to say it.

There is no age better than another.