I made a promise to myself to be kinder to other people.

I want to sing like Aretha Franklin. Before her I wanted the technical ability of Ella Fitzgerald.

I found out along the way that they like you a little imperfect.

Always be smarter than the people who hire you.

It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's positive and that it is not worse, rather than the uncomfortable edges of bitterness for the negatives and that it is not better.

I made a promise to myself to be kinder to other people.

I was lucky, as many of my generation was, in having a man like Dr. King in our lives. He came at a time that we needed to take a long look at each other and see how similar we were.