I believe that I definitely developed into a refined and graceful woman due to ballet. It has shaped me in every way.

Some people even think that I'm still just not right for it [ballet]. And I think it's shocking because they hear those words from critics saying I'm too bulky, I'm too busty. And then they meet me in person and they're like, you look like a ballerina. And I think it's just something maybe that I will never escape from, those people who are narrow-minded. But my mission, my voice, my story, my message, is not for them. And I think it's more important to think of the people that I am influencing and helping to see a broader picture of what beauty is.

Once I became a professional, maybe 19 or 20, I really started to try to figure out who I was, as a woman and as an individual.

The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.

The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.

I will never reach perfection.

To be an artist and to be recognized by another artist who is, you know, just something you can't even put into words, someone that is so far beyond what the normal human being experience is in terms of creativity and originality. That was kind of a moment where I thought wow maybe I do have something more that makes me special.