It feels good to know you contributed positively to another's life, to their happiness, to their survival. It gives us a sense of purpose.

Failure isn't really an option because, as my grandmother used to say, "Nothing beats a failure but a try."

You have to move to your own beat. There will be times when no one believes in you or understands what you're doing and why you are doing it. The most important thing is for you to believe in you. Following your own vision is one of the only things that will sustain you.

It feels good to know you contributed positively to another's life, to their happiness, to their survival. It gives us a sense of purpose.

My grandmother instilled in me two important lessons: I was just as good as anyone else, and education was my salvation. Fortunately, I was able to get scholarships to excellent schools, but I was one of the lucky ones. All of this is what draws me to anti-poverty organizations like Oxfam.

Being involved with Oxfam has really opened my eyes to the world at large and the suffering of others. But my background and my life experience are what have allowed me to understand how interconnected we all are. I believe one person suffering reverberates throughout the world.

If it gets to the point where I actually physically cannot have a child, there's plenty of children in the world that need a stable home and loving parent. I'm so down for adoption.