For the most part, as a society, we are not happy with ourselves.

I remember growing up and hearing the word "ugly" a lot. "I'm ugly." "She ugly." "He ugly." I hated it then, and I hate it now. I go past physical beauty; I tell people they have a beautiful spirit and that is something different.

For the most part, as a society, we are not happy with ourselves.

What I strive to do through my work, is to teach compassion. You need to have a lot of it, in this day and time, and it's lacking.

When I approach a person, I feel a certain way. If I don't feel that way, I'm not going to approach that individual. "I see something in you" - I want the person to know that.

For me, the stars are the invisible people on the street that people don't really get a chance to know.

Philip Jones Griffith documented the Vietnam War, and through his images that were published in Time Life Magazine, it showed me the horrors of war and at that time, I wanted to be a war photographer, based off his work.